UC-NRLF 


B   H   SDS   7ED 


LIBRAKY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

GIFT 

Class 

[•M''3'JnijVHAS 

]ua  ouoiAVO 


;  3  3'i- 


A901 


SOME  OF  THE  ROMAN 
REMAINS  IN  ENGLAND 


BY 

SAMUEL  SWETT  GREEN 


SOME  OF  THE  ROMAN 
REMAINS  IN  ENGLAND 


BY 


SAMUEL  SWETT  GREEN 


Read  bbforb  the  American  Antiquarian  Societt,  at  its  Annuai, 
Meeting  in  Worcester,  October  24,  1906. 


WITH  THE  RESPECTS   of 


^e   FREE   PUBLIC   LIBRARY 

WORCESTER,  MASSACHUSETTS, 
Where  the  substance  of  this  paper  was  t  A^ice  given  as  a  lecture. 


WORCESTER,  MASS. 

THE  DAVIS  PRESS 

1907 


.,>^ 


^^ 


•.  •  •  •  .•  •  * ' . 


»•  •   •         fl 


M 


1    .      ..>■'.''     ■>  > 


SOME  OF  THE  roma:n'  remai:n^s  m 

ENGLAOT). 

BY   SAMUEL   SWETT   GREEN. 


For  several  years  I  have  followed  with  great  interest 
the  excavations  which  have  been  made  in  towns  of  the 
Roman  period  in  English  history.  In  1902  I  visited  Uri- 
conium,  or  Viriconium  as  many  investigators  believe  it 
should  be  called.  It  is  situated  near  the  hillWrekin  and 
is  reached  from  Shrewsbury,  in  the  interesting  museum  of 
which  place  are  to  be  seen  the  objects  found  in  the  excava- 
tions. A  small  town  named  Wroxeter  occupies  an  incon- 
siderable portion  of  the  site  of  the  old  Roman  enclosure. 

In  1903,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  watching  the  trenching 
which  is  still  going  on  at  Calleva  Atrebatum  (Silchester, 
in  Hampshire,)  and  again  during  the  past  summer;  both 
times  under  the  valuable  guidance  of  Mr.  Mill  Stephenson, 
an  accomplished  expert.  During  my  recent  visit  I  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  meet  at  the  ruins,  and  have  a  long 
and  most  profitable  conversation  with,  Mr.  George  Edward 
Fox,  who  is,  I  understand,  the  leading  authority  in  England 
in  regard  to  architectural  remains  of  Roman  Britain.  A 
minute  record  of  the  discoveries  at  Silchester  appears  in 
the  successive  volumes  of  Archaeologia,  the  official  organ 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  under  whose  auspices  the 
excavations  there  have  been  made  in  recent  years.  Be- 
sides visiting  Pevensey  (supposed  to  have  been  the  ill- 
fated  Anderida),  Richborough  (the  Roman  landing-place, 
Rutupiffi)  and  a  Roman  villa  at  Chedworth,  as  well  as  other 
spots  rendered  memorable  by  the  presence  of  the  Romans, 
the  past  summer  and  in  previous  years,  I  took  occasion 
early  in  August  to  examine  on  the  ground  the  excavations 
now  being  made  at  Caerwent,  in  Monmouthshire,  on  the 
site  of  the  old  Roman  walled  town  of  Venta  Silurum  and 
to  visit  the  Roman  wall  in  Northumbria  and  Cumberland. 


228264 


c       t  r      . 

c'c 
<      ,    '     '         t    ,  tec  , 


I    propose    in    this    paper     to    write    briefly    about    a 

few     of     the    other    more    conspicuous    and    interesting 

sites   of    Roman    remains    and    then    describe    more    at 

length,  but  in  a   very  limited  way,  the  results  of  excava- 

•tions  at  Silchester. 

DATES. 

Allow  me  at  the  start  to  refresh  your  memories  by  giving 
you  a  few  important  dates.  Julius  Csesar,  as  you  remember, 
first  invaded  Britain  in  55  and  again  in  54,  B.  C.  As 
you  know,  he  made  no  permanent  settlement.  That  was 
made  by  the  Emperor  Claudius,  who  sent  his  general, 
Aulus  Plautius  to  Britain,  A.  D.  43.  That  officer,  having 
achieved  considerable  success,  went  into  camp  on  the  site, 
it  has  been  conjectured,  of  the  present,  but  then  non- 
existent, city  of  London  and  sent  for  Claudius  to  come 
to  complete  the  victory. 

Claudius  came,  and  during  a  stay  of  sixteen  days,  or  so, 
in  Britain  captured  Camulodunum  (Colchester)  the  strong- 
hold of  his  opponent.  Having  returned  to  Rome,  Aulus 
Plautius  continued  the  conquest  with  the  result  of  gaining 
for  the  Empire  the  Southern  and  Western  portions  of 
Britain,  from  the  Thames  to  the  Severn.  He  seems  to 
have  fixed  the  Romans  "permanently  at  Colchester  and 
Gloucester  (Glevum),  which  places  from  that  date  became 
two  very  important  stations."^ 

During  the  reign  of  Nero,  A.  D.  60  or  61,  came  the  for- 
midable revolt  of  Boadicea  (Boudicca,  according  to  Thomas 
Hodgkin,  who  has  ably  described  the  Roman  period  of 
history  in  England  in  a  volume  bearing  the  date  of  the 
present  year.)  The  year  78  is  memorable;  for  it  was  in 
that  year  that  Cnseius  Julius  Agricola  was  sent  to  Britain 
by  Vespasian  as  legatus.  He  was  the  father-in-law  of 
the  historian,  Tacitus  and  "the  most  celebrated  and  prob- 
ably the  greatest  of  the  governors  of  Britain."^  Under 
him  the  Roman  arms  made  great  progress. 


'  Scarth's  Roman  Britain,  p.  39.    For  full  titles  of  books  quoted,  see  list  of  books 
at  the  end  of  the  paper. 

*  Hodgkin.     History  of  England,  p.  46. 


In  about  A.  D.  120  the  wall  between  the  Tyne  and  the 
Solway  was  built  and  about  140  the  one  between  the  Firths 
of  Forth  and  Clyde. 

The  Emperor  Septimius  Severus  set  forth  from  Rome 
in  208  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  province  of  Britain  into 
order,  and  died,  it  will  be  remembered,  at  York 
(Eboraeum)  in  210.  The  usurper  Constantine  withdrew 
the  Roman  legions,  says  Hodgkin,  from  Britain  to  Gaul 
in  the  year  407. 

THE   ROMAN   WALL. 

In  speaking  of  the  two  barriers  constructed  by  the  Romans 
in  Britain,  Mr.  H.  M.  Scarth  writes  that  " after  remaining 
for  centuries  neglected,  and  their  works  serving  as  quarries 
for  material,  or  harbours  for  robbers  in  the  times  of  border 
warfare,  they  have,  in  more  recent  times,  attracted  the 
attention  they  deserve."^  The  lower  of  these  barriers  is 
usually  known  as  The  Roman  Wall  and  has  been  exhaus- 
tively described  in  an  interesting  and  elaborate  monograph 
by  Rev.  J.  Collingwood  Bruce,  the  third  edition  of  whose 
work  was  pubHshed  in  1867.  "The  great  fortification," 
he  writes,  "which  was  intended  to  act  not  only  as  a  fence 
against  a  northern  enemy,  but  to  be  used  as  the  basis  of 
operation  against  a  foe  on  either  side  of  it,  consists  of 
three  parts:  I.  A  Stone  Wall,  strengthened  by  a  ditch 
on  the  northern  side.  II.  An  Earth  Wall  or  Vallum,  to 
the  south  of  the  stone  waU.  III.  Stations,  Castles,  Watch- 
towers,  and  Roads,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  soldiery 
who  manned  the  Wall,  and  for  the  transmission  of  military 
stores.  These  he,  for  the  most  part,  between  the  stone 
wall  ard  the  earthen  rampart."*  The  stone  wall  extends 
from  Wallsend  (Segiodunum)  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tyne  to  Bowness  on  the  north  side  of  the  Solway  Firth, 
a  distance  of  seventy-three  and  a  half  English  miles. 
The  earth  wall  falls  short  of  this  distance  by  about  three 
miles  at  each  end,  not  extending  beyond  Newcastle  on 
the  east  and  terminating  at  Dykesfield  on  the  west. 


»  Page  79. 

*  Pages  49  and  50. 


6 

The  murus  and  the  vallum  both  pursue  a  straightforward 
course.  The  former,  says  Mr.  Bruce,  "shooting  over  the 
country,  in  its  onward  course,  only  swerves  from  a  straight 
line  to  take  in  its  route  the  boldest  elevations.  So  far 
from  decUning  a  hill,  it  uniformly  selects  one."^ 

Beda,  (A.  D.  671  to  735,)  "whose  cherished  home  was 
the  monastery  of  Jarrow,  anciently  a  part  of  the  parish  of 
Wallsend,  is  the  earhest  author  who  gives  "^  the  dimensions 
of  the  stone  wall.  He  speaks  of  it  as  twelve  feet  in  height. 
"In  all  probability"  wiites  Mr.  Bruce,  "the  Wall  would 
be  surmounted  by  a  battlement  of  not  less  than  four  feet 
in  height,  and  as  this  part  of  the  structure  would  be  the 
first  to  fall  into  decay,  Beda's  calculation  was  probably 
irrespective  of  it.  This,  however,'  only  gives  us  a  total 
elevation  of  sixteen  feet.  Unless  we  reject  the  evidence 
of  Ridley"  (speaking  of  the  wall  as  it  stood  about  the  year, 
1572)  ''and  Erdeswick,"  (who  visited  the  wall  in  1574) 
"we  must  admit  even  after  making  due  allowance  for 
error  and  exaggeration,  that  the  Wall,  when  in  its  integrity, 
was  eighteen  or  nineteen  feet  high.  This  elevation  would 
be  in  keeping  with  its  breadth.  The  thickness  of  the  Wall 
varies  considerably.  In  some  places  it  is  six  feet,  in  others 
nine  feet  and  a  half.  Probably  the  prevaihng  width  is  eight 
feet,  the  measurement  given  by  Beda  .  .  .  Through- 
out the  whole  of  its  length  the  AVall  was  accompanied  on 
its  northern  margin  by  a  broad  and  deep  Fosse.  . 
Where  the  ditch  traverses  a  flat  or  exposed  country,  a  por- 
tion of  the  materials  taken  out  of  it  has  been  frequently 
thrown  upon  its  northern  margin,  so  as  to  present  to  the 
enemy  an  additional  rampart.  In  those  portions,  on  the 
other  hand,  where  its  assistance  could  be  of  no  avail,  as 
along  the  edge  of  a  cliff,  the  fosse  does  not  appear."^ 

The  Vallum,  or  Earth  Wall,  which  lies  uniformly  to  the 
south  of  the  stone  wall,  "consists  of  three  ramparts  and 
a  fosse.  One  of  these  ramparts  is  placed  close  upon  the 
southern  edge  of  the  ditch;  the  two  others,  of  larger  dimen- 
sions, stand  one  to  the  north  and  the  other  to  the  south  of 

»  Page  51. 
«  Page  52. 
*  Pages  54  and  55, 


it,  at  the  distance  of  about  twenty-four  feet 

A  careful  examination  of  the  country  over  which  the  Wall 
runs,  almost  necessarily  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  whilst 
the  Wall  undertook  the  harder  duty  of  warding  off  the 
openly  hostile  tribes  of  Caledonia,  the  Vallum  was  intended 
as  a  protection  from  sudden  surprise  from  the  south.  The 
natives  of  the  country  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wall,  though 
conquered,  were  not  to  be  depended  upon."^ 

"The  third,  and  perhaps  the  most  important,  part  of 
the  barrier  line  consisted  of  the  structures  that  were  formed 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  soldiery,  and  for  the  ready 
transmission  of  troops  and  stores."^  "At  distances  along 
the  line  which  average  nearly  four  miles.  Stationary  Camps 
were  erected."^''  These  were  "military  cities,  adapted  to 
the  residence  of  the  chief  who  commanded  the  district, 
and  providing  secure  lodgment  for  the  powerful  body  of 
soldiery  he  had  under  him.  Here  the  commandant  held 
his  court;  hence  issued  decrees  which  none  might  gainsay. 
Here  Roman  arts,  literature,  and  luxury  struggled  for 
existence,  whilst  all  around  was  ignorance  and  barbarism.  "^^ 
"All  the  stations  have,  on  their  erection,  been  provided, 
after  the  usual  method  of  Roman  castrametation,  with  at 
least  four  gateways.  "^^ 

The  best  preserved  station  along  the  line  of  the  wall  is 
at  Housesteads,  the  ancient  Borcovicus,  about  the  centre 
of  the  barrier.  The  enclosure  contains  five  acres  or  more. 
I  visited  that  station  during  the  past  summer  and  found 
its  ruins  very  interesting  and  instructive.  A  good  way 
of  reaching  it  is  to  go  to  Haydon  Bridge,  a  station  on  a 
railway  running  between  Carlisle  and  Newcastle. 

"The  list  of  troops  employed  to  garrison  the  Wall  reveals 
some  of  the  peculiar  features  of  Roman  pohcy,"^^  Whilst 
the  "auxiliary  troops  were  exposed  to  the  first  assault 
of  the  foe,  the  sixth  legion,  composed  it  is  thought  chiefly 
of   native   Italians,    reposed   in    comparative   security   at 

»  Pages  56-57  and  59. 

»  Page  59. 
"  Page  60 
"  Page  60. 
"  Page  61. 
>8  Page  70. 


8 

York."^*  "Troops  belonging  to  the  same  nation  were 
never  placed  in  contiguous  stations. "^^  ''Making  every 
allowance  for  the  occasional  reduction  of  numbers  below  the 
proper  standard,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  garrison 
of  the  Wall  usually  consisted  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand 
men."!*' 

"In  addition  to  the  stations,  Castella  or  Mile-Castles 
were  provided  for  the  use  of  the  troops  which  garrisoned 
the  Wall,  They  derive  their  modern  name  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  their  being  usually  placed  at  the  distance 
of  a  Roman  mile  from  each  other.  .  .  .  The  chief 
object  of  the  castella  evidently  being  to  protect  the  party 
of  soldiers  who  guarded  for  the  day  the  contiguous  mile  of 
wall  from  any  sudden  surprise,  the  erection  of  any  barracks 
or  huts,  needed  for  their  temporary  shelter,  may  have  been 
left  to  their  own  diligence  and  discretion.  Between  the 
mile-castles,  four  subsidiary  buildings,  generally  denomi- 
nated Turrets  or  Watch-towers  were  placed.  They  were 
little  more  than  stone  sentry-boxes."^^ 

"The  advance  of  Roman  armies,  and  the  formation  of 
roads,  were  uniformly  contemporaneous.  The  barrier  there- 
fore had  its  MiUtary  Way."^^  In  the  rebellion  of  1745, 
the  government  suffered  great  inconvenience  from  the 
fact  that  only  portions  of  the  way  could  be  used  and  those 
only  by  employing  pack  horses.  After  the  suppression 
of  the  outbreak,  it  "turned  its  attention  to  the  necessity 
of  having  a  good  road  across  the  Isthmus,  and  that  which 
is  now  known  in  the  country  as  the  Military  Road  was  con- 
structed at  the  public  expense.  "^^  The  method  of  examin- 
ing such  portions  of  the  Wall  as  remain  is  to  pass  along 
this  road.  A  few  weeks  before  I  traversed  a  stretch  of  it 
in  a  carriage,  members  of  the  Cumberland  and  Westmore- 
land Antiquarian  and  Archaeological  Society  and  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries,  Newcastle  on  Tyne,  walked  along  the 
road,  stopping  at  places  of  interest  and  sleeping  in  inns  near 

"  Page  70. 

"  Page  71. 

'•  Page  72. 

"  Pages  72  and  74. 

"  Page  75. 

"  Ibid. 


their  route.  They  took,  it  was  said,  about  a  week  in  mak- 
ing the  excursion. 

"The  Roman  MiUtary  Way  accompanies  the  Wall  through- 
out its  entire  course,  and  uniformly  lies  between  the  Murus 
and  the  Vallum.  It  is  usually  about  seventeen  feet  wide, 
and  is  composed  of  rubble  so  arranged  as  to  present  a  rounded 
surface,  elevated  in  the  centre  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches 
above  the  adjoining  ground."^  "The  Wall  is  faced  on  both 
sides  of  it  with  carefully-squared  blocks  of  freestone.  The 
interior  is  filled  with  'rubble,'  of  any  description,  firmly 
imbedded  in  mortar.  The  facing  stones  are  usually  eight 
of  nine  inches  thick,  and  ten  or  eleven  broad;  the  length  of 
them  exceeds  their  other  dimensions,  amounting  usually 
to  fifteen  and  occasionally  to  twenty  inches  and  more. 
The  face  of  the  stone  is  cut  transversely  to  the  lines  of 
stratification,  so  as  to  avoid  exfoliation  by  the  action  of 
the  weather.  The  stone  is  made  to  taper  off  towards  its 
inner  extremity,  so  as  the  more  readily  to  adapt  itself  to 
the  bed  of  gravelly  mortar  intended  for  it.  In  consequence 
of  the  depth  to  which  the  stones  were  set  into  the  Wall, 
the  necessity  of  rows  of  binding  tiles,  which  form  so  char- 
acteristic a  feature  of  Roman  masonry  in  the  south  of 
England,  is  done  away  with.  There  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  a  single  tile  used  in  any  part  of  the  Wall.  On 
one  or  two  occasions,  however,  as  for  example  at  the  House- 
steads  mile-castle,  a  single  row  of  stone  flags  has  been  used, 
apparently  with  the  same  view  that  tiles  were."^^ 

"The  strength  of  the  Wall  has  in  a  large  measure  depended 
upon  the  nature  of  the  mortar  made  use  of."^  Such  as 
was  used  "sets  in  a  few  hours  and  soon  becomes  as  hard 
as   stone.  "^ 

"But  little  care  was  expended  in  preparing  the  founda- 
tion" of  the  Wall.     "The  structure  was  sufficiently  broad 


*"  Pages  75  and  76. 

"  Pages  81  and  83. 

"  Page  83. 

^^  Ibid.  The  mortar  "has  evidently  'been  similar  to  the  grout  and  concrete 
used  by  the  railway  engineers  of  the  present  day.  The  lime  has  been  ground  when 
in  an  unalacked  state,  and  then  carefully  mixed  with  sand,  gravel,  and  stone 
chippings.  When  about  to  be  used  the  mass  has  been  freely  mixed  with  water." 
Bruce,  p.  83. 


10 

and  solid  to  stand  by  its  own  tenacity.  For  the  most 
part  no  excavation  seems  to  have  been  made  . 
The  lowest  stones  of  the  foundation  were  usually  broad 
flags,  three  or  four  inches  in  thickness,  and  these  in  many 
places  are  laid  upon  a  bed  of  well-puddled  clay.  Upon 
these  flat  stones,  was  laid  the  first  course  of  facing  stones, 
which  were  usually  the  largest  stones  used  in  the  structure. 
In  the  higher  courses  the  facing  stones  are  uniformly  of 
freestone;  but  in  the  ground  course  a  'whin-stone'  is  occa- 
sionally introduced.  The  flagstones  of  the  foundation 
usually  project  from  one  to  five  inches  beyond  the  first 
course  of  facing  stones,  and  those  again  usually  stand  out 
an  inch  or  two  beyond  the  second  course,  after  which  the 
wall  is  taken  straight  up.  One  of  two  courses  of  facing- 
stones  having  been  placed  in  their  beds  and  carefully 
pointed,  a  mass  of  mortar  in  a  very  fluid  state  was 
poured  into  the  interior  of  the  Wall,  and  stones  of 
any  kind  and  shape  that  were  of  a  convenient  size 
were  'puddled'  in  amongst  it."^  "Such  is  the 
strength  of  the  Wall  that  if  the  meddling  hand  of 
man  had  been  withheld  from  it.  it  might  have  stood 
to  the  present  hour  in  almost  all  its  original  in- 
tegrity. "^^ 

Numerous  objects  of  interest  have  been  found  in  the 
excavations  about  the  Wall  and  many  of  them  may  be 
seen  at  Newcastle  and  in  the  collection  of  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  at  Alnwick  Castle. 

A  survey  of  the  Wall  was  made  under  the  auspices  of  a 
late  Duke  of  Northumberland.  There  have  been  differ- 
ences of  opinion  as  to  who  the  builder  of  the  Wall  was,  but 
after  reading  the  evidence  collected  by  Mr.  Bruce,  and 
giving  weight  to  other  considerations,  I  am  ready  to  indorse 
the  opinion  which  is  now  commonly  held  by  antiquarians, 
that,  while  Agricola  probably  drew  the  first  line  of  forts 
between  the  Tyne  and  the  Solway,  the  Wall  itself  was 
built  by  Hadrian.  It  is  highly  probable  that  it  was  after- 
wards repaired  by  Severus. 


"  Pages  84  and  85. 
"  Page  85. 


Tlir   sun   OF    URICONIUM    AT   WROXETF.R.    fiAI.Ol' 


11 


THE  UPPER  BARRIER. 


The  upper  wall,  or  barrier  constructed  by  Hadrian's 
successor,  Antoninus  Pius,  was  formed  it  is  believed  by 
connecting  together  by  means  of  a  deep  fosse  and  an  earthen- 
rampart,  the  forts  previously  erected  by  Agricola  between 
the  Forth  and  the  Clyde. 

ROADS. 

At  the  period  when  the  Roman  forces  finally  left  Britain 
there  existed  at  the  lowest  computation,  fifty  walled  towns, 
exclusive  of  the  numerous  military  walled  stations,  with 
their  attendant  suburbs.  The  towns  and  stations  were 
connected  by  excellent  roads,  and  these  were  provided 
at  fixed  intervals  with  posting-stations  where  relays  of 
horses  were  kept. 

Four  principal  lines  of  roads  have  been  popularly 
known  as  the  "four  Roman  ways."  In  the  time  of  Edward 
the  Confessor,  and  probably  much  earlier,  there  were  lour 
roads  in  England  protected  by  the  king's  peace.  These 
were  WatHng-strete  the  Fosse,  Hickinielde-strete,  and 
Ermine-strete. 

Watling  street  ran  from  London  to  Wroxeter;  the  Fosse 
from  the  sea  coast  near  Seaton,  in  Devonshire,  to  Lincoln; 
the  Ikinild  (Hickinielde)  street  from  Islington  near  Bury  St. 
Edmunds  in  Suffolk,  to  Wantage  in  Berkshire  and  on  to 
Cirencester  and  Gloucester;  the  Ermine  street  ran  through 
the  Fenway  district  of  the  east  of  England.  These  streets 
seem  to  have  represented  a  combination  of  those  portions 
of  the  Roman  roads  which  in  later  times  were  adopted  and 
kept  in  repair  for  the  sake  of  traffic. 

The  name  of  Watling  street  became  attached  to  other 
roads,  as  the  Roman  road  beyond  the  Northumbrian  wall, 
which  crossed  the  Tyne  at  Corbridge  and  ran  to  the  Firth 
of  Forth  at  Cramond,  and  the  Roman  road  going  beyond 
Wi:oxeter  (Uriconium)  to  Leint-warden  (Bravinium),  Salop. 
The  street  in  Canterbury  through  which  the  road  from 
London  to  Dover  passes  and  a  street  in  London  also  bear 
the  name.  These  are  quite  unknown  to  the  Roman  Itinera 
(a  list  of  the  marching  roads  in  Britain  supposed  to  have 


11 


THE  UPPER  BARRIER. 


The  upper  wall,  or  barrier  constructed  by  Hadrian's 
successor,  Antoninus  Pius,  was  formed  it  is  believed  by 
connecting  together  by  means  of  a  deep  fosse  and  an  earthen- 
rampart,  the  forts  previously  erected  by  Agricola  between 
the  Forth  and  the  Clyde. 

ROADS. 

At  the  period  when  the  Roman  forces  finally  left  Britain 
there  existed  at  the  lowest  computation,  fifty  walled  towns, 
exclusive  of  the  numerous  military  walled  stations,  with 
their  attendant  suburbs.  The  towns  and  stations  were 
connected  by  excellent  roads,  and  these  were  provided 
at  fixed  intervals  with  posting-stations  where  relays  of 
horses  were  kept. 

Four  principal  lines  ,of  roads  have  been  popularly 
known  as  the  "four  Roman  ways."  In  the  time  of  Edward 
the  Confessor,  and^robably  much  earlier,  there  were  lour 
roads  in  England  pi:otected  by  the  king's  peace.  These 
were  Watling-strete  the  Fosse,  Hickinielde-strete,  and 
Ermine-strete. 

Watling  street  ran  from  London  to  Wroxeter;  the  Fosse 
from  the  sea  coast  near  Seaton,  in  Devonshire,  to  Lincoln; 
the  Ikinild  (Hickinielde)  street  from  Islington  near  Bury  St. 
Edmunds  in  Suffolk,  to  Wantage  in  Berkshire  and  on  to 
Cirencester  and  Gloucester;  the  Ermine  street  ran  through 
the  Fenway  district  of  the  east  of  England.  These  streets 
seem  to  have  represented  a  combination  of  those  portions 
of  the  Roman  roads  which  in  later  times  were  adopted  and 
kept  in  repair  for  the  sake  of  traffic. 

The  name  of  Watling  street  became  attached  to  other 
roads,  as  the  Roman  road  beyond  the  Northumbrian  wall, 
which  crossed  the  Tyne  at  Corbridge  and  ran  to  the  Firth 
of  Forth  at  Cramond,  and  the  Roman  road  going  beyond 
Wi:oxeter  (Uriconium)  to  Leint-warden  (Bra vinium),  Salop. 
The  street  in  Canterbury  through  which  the  road  from 
London  to  Dover  passes  and  a  street  in  London  also  bear 
the  name.  These  are  quite  unknown  to  the  Roman  Itinera 
(a  list  of  the  marching  roads  in  Britain  supposed  to  have 


12 

received  its  name  of  Itinera  of  Antonine  from  the  son  of 
Severus,  Caracalla,  known  as  Antoninus),  but  are  never- 
theless undoubtedly  Roman  roads,  and  were  in  use  at  an 
early  period  in  the  Roman  occupation. 

There  was  an  important  road  between  Chester  (Deva) 
and  Caerleon-on-Usk  (Isca  Silurum),  along  which  were  forti- 
fied stations,  as  in  later  times  there  were  castles,  to  guard 
against  the  ravages  of  enemies  in  Wales.  Of  the  eight  or 
nine  stations  along  the  road,  three,  namely:  Uriconium, 
Magna  (Kinchester)  and  Ariconium  must  have  been  con- 
siderable towns,  judging  from  the  size  of  the  fortified 
enclosures  and  the  Roman  remains  which  have  been  found. 

"The  method  of  constructing  the  roads,"  writes  Mr. 
Scarth,  "varies  according  to  the  character  of  the  country 
through  which  they  passed,  and  the  materials  at  hand. 
They  are  raised  above  the  surroundng  surface  of  the  land, 
and  run  in  a  straight  line  from  station  to  station.  A  por- 
tion of  the  Fosse  road  which  remains  at  Redstock,  about 
ten  miles  south-west  from  Bath,  which  was  opened  in 
February,  1881,  showed  the  following  construction: — 

"1.  Pavimentum,  or  foundation,  fine  earth  hard  beaten 
in.  2.  Statumen,  or  bed  of  the  road,  composed  of  large 
stones,  sometimes  mixed  with  mortar.  3.  Rudenatio,  or 
small  stones  well  mixed  with  mortar.  4.  Nucleus,  formed 
by  mixing  lime,  chalk,  pounded  brick  or  tile;  or  gravel, 
sand  and  lime  mixed  with  clay.  5.  Upon  this  was  laid 
the  surface  of  the  paved  road,  technically  called  the  'sum- 
mum  dorsum. '  Other  roads  do  not  show  the  same  elaborate 
construction,  but  they  have  resisted  the  wear  of  ages, 
and  would  have  existed  to  the  present  time  if  not  obliterated 
by  the  hand  of  man.  Many  have  been  destroyed  in  the 
present  age  for  the  sake  of  road  material.  In  marshy 
lands  the  roads  were  constructed  on  piles;  these  have  been 
found  in  the  approach  to  Lincoln  from  the  south.  The  roads 
varied  in  breadth,  having  generally  a  width  of  fifteen  feet."^ 

The  name  of  "street"  (via  strata),  as  has  appeared,  cdm- 
monly  attaches  to  their  course  and  this  appellation  con- 
tinues where  the  road  has  been  entirely  effaced. 

"  Page  121. 


13 


STATIONS. 

During  the  occupation  of  Britain  by  the  Romans  a 
strait  named  Wantsun  ran  between  what  was  then  the 
Isle  of  Thanet  and  the  Coast  of  Kent.  That  formed  the 
nearest  and  best  channel  at  that  time  for  the  commercial 
trade  with  Gaul  and  Germany.  At  the  northern  mouth 
of  the  strait  stood  the  fortified  station  of  Regulbium 
(Reculver)  and  at  its  southern  entrance  the  Roman  fortress, 
Rutupiae  (Richborough),  Other  stations  on  the  southeast 
coast  of  England  were  Portus  Lemanis  (Lymne)  and  Portus 
Dubris  (Dover).  The  strait,  Wantsun,  has  disappeared 
and  the  sea  has  retired  far  from  the  coast.  Portions  of 
the  defences  still  remain,  however.  The  most  considerable 
are  those  at  Richborough.  Of  them  it  may  be  said  that 
they  constitute  the  most  considerable  and  perfect  Roman 
fortification  in  England.  The  walls  inclose  a  parallelogram 
of  about  six  acres,  and  on  three  sides  are  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation.  The  north  wall  for  a  considerable  stretch 
is  in  such  perfect  condition  as  to  afford  as  fine  a  specimen 
of  undisturbed  Roman  masonry  as  probably  can  be  found 
in  England.  It  is  ten  feet  eight  inches  in  thickness  and 
nearly  thirty  feet  in  height.  The  outer  facing  remains  and 
the  binding  courses  of  tiles  are  nearly  in  their  original  state. 

The  fourth  side  of  the  enclosure  is  open  to  the  river 
Stour,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  sea  formerly  came  up  to 
the  landing-place  on  that  side. 

A  correction  must  be  made  in  a  statement  of  Mr.  C. 
Roach  Smith,  the  principal  authority  in  regard  to  the 
remains  of  Rutupise.  He  believed  that  there  was  no  wall 
on  the  east  side  of  the  fortifications.  Traces  have  been 
found,  since  he  wrote,  of  a  return  wall  on  that  side,  beyond 
the  river.  Passing  by  other  stations,  Anderida  (Pevensey) 
should  be  mentioned.  The  walls  are  remarkably  well 
preserved  and  within  the  enclosure  is  an  early  Norman  castle. 
The  Roman  walls  and  the  later  castle  are  both  impressive. 

VILLAS. 

Turning  from  the  coast,  and  putting  off  the  mention  of 
towns  and  cities,  we  find  numerous  villas  in  the  interior, 


14 

especially  in  the  southern  and  western  portions  of  Britain. 
These  were  centres  of  comfort,  prosperity  and  luxury  and 
often  of  no  httle  cultivation. 

Mr.  Scarth  states  that  "in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  Bath"  (Aquffi  Sohs),  "on  the  borders  of  Somerset, 
Wilts  and  Gloucestershire,  and  within  a  radius  of  five  or 
six  miles,  thirteen  or  fourteen  villas  have  been  opened, 
and  the  pavements  and  other  remains  recorded.  They 
are  numerous  in  the  more  western  part  of  Somerset,  and 
especially  in  Gloucestershire,  Wiltshire,  Dorsetshire,  Hamp- 
shire, Sussex,  Berkshire,  Oxfordshire,  Northamptonshire, 
Kent,  Essex,  Lincolnshire  and  Yorkshire;  also  remains  of 
villas  are  found  in  Shropshire  and  South  Wales,  but  many 
that  have  at  different  periods  come  to  light  have  not  been 
recorded  in  Archaeologia"'^'^  or  other  archaeological  journals. 

One  of  the  largest  villas  yet  opened  is  at  Woodchester 
in  Gloucestershire,  and  in  it  was  found  the  finest  pavement 
yet  discovered  in  Britain. 

One  of  the  most  perfect  villas  which  is  also  most  com- 
plete in  its  arrangements,  is  at  Lydney  "on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Severn,  not  far  from  Gloucester.  "^^  It  is  on 
the  skirts  of  the  Forest  of  Dean,  a  drive  into  which,  by  the 
late  Senator  Hoar  and  John  Bellows,  has  been  so  pleasantly 
described  by  the  latter  in  our  Proceedings. 

The  villa  at  Chedworth,  Gloucestershire,  which,  as  stated 
before,  I  visited  last  summer,  besides  having  some  beautiful 
pavements,  and  being  interesting  in  other  respects,  has  a 
finely  preserved  bath  and  hypocaust. 

MINING,  MANUFACTURING,  ETC, 

A  word  should  be  written  about  mining  and  manufac- 
tures in  Roman  times  in  Britain.  There  are  numerous 
indications  that  iron  was  produced  in  quantities.  Beds 
of  scoriae  and  cinders  are  found  in  Hertfordshire,  Mon- 
mouthshire and  Gloucestershire.  We  find,  too,  hand  bloom- 
eries,  with  ore  imperfectly  smelted.  The  beds  of  cinders  are 
in  some  cases  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness.    Hills 


"  Pages  161  and  162. 
"  Page  163. 


15 

appear  that  have  been  mined  for  iron  ore.  In  speaking 
of  the  scale  of  iron-working  in  the  Forest  of  Dean,  our 
late  associate,  John  Bellows,  told  us  that  it  was  so  great 
that  with  the  imperfect  method  of  smelting,  with  Catalan 
furnaces,  etc.,  used  by  the  Romans,  so  much  metal  was 
left  in  the  cinder  "that  it  has  been  sought  after  all  the 
way  down  to  within  the  present  generation  as  a  source  of 
profit;  and  in  the  time  of  Edward  I.,  one-fourth  of  the 
king's  revenue  from  the  Forest  was  derived  from  the  re- 
smelted  Roman  refuse."^ 

The  workings  of  lead,  tin  and  copper  were  equally  exten- 
sive with  those  of  iron.  Pottery  kilns  have  been  discovered 
in  the  New  Forest  in  Hampshire,  in  Somersetshire,  Wor- 
cestershire, Northamptonshire  and  Essex.  The  pottery  is, 
however,  of  a  coarser  kind.  Castor  (Durobrivae)  near  Peter- 
borough is  best  known  from  its  manufacture  of  pottery. 

The  so-called  Samian  ware,  which  derives  its  designation 
from  the  island  whose  name  it  bears,  while  made  in  Italy 
and  Gaul,  as  well  as  on  the  Rhine,  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  manufactured  in  Roman  Britain.  It  was  much 
prized  there,  however,  and  native  imitations  of  it  appear 
to  have  been  produced.  "The  finest  examples"  of  the 
Samian  ware  "show  a  dense  salmon  coloured  paste,  the 
surface  inside  and  out  being  covered  by  a  thick  glaze  of 
rich  coral  red."^ 

Bricks  and  tiles  were  extensively  manufactured  in  Roman 
Britain.  So  too  was  plain  and  embossed  glass  of  every 
kind;  a  great  variety  of  vessels  has  been  discovered  in 
tombs.  The  manufacture  of  articles  of  jet  also  flourished.  A 
large  body  of  designers  and  workmen  must  have  been  employed 
in  laying  mosaic  floors  and  painting  the  walls  of  rooms. 

To  say  nothing  of  agriculture,  sheep  raising  and  kindred 
pursuits  which  were  largely  followed,  mention  will  have 
to  be  made  later  of  one  or  more  other  occupations  of  the 
Roman  inhabitants  of  Britain.  Large  numbers  of  persons 
were  employed  in  commerce,  foreign  and  domestic,  and  in 
the  usual  avocations  of  town  and  country. 

'*  Proceedings  of  The  American  Antiquarian  Society.N.  S.,  Vol.  XIII  (April,  1899- 
April,  1900.) 

*"  Short  giiide  to  the  Silchester  Collection,  Reading,  by  G.  E.  Fox. 


16 


BUILDINGS   AND   WALLS. 


It  seems  proper  here  to  say  a  word  about  Roman  con- 
struction of  the  walls  of  buildings.  Wood  seems  to  have 
been  the  usual  building  material,  excepting  for  public  halls, 
baths  and  fortifications.  A  common  mode  of  construction 
appears  to  have  been  to  build  the  lower  portion  only  of  a 
house  of  stone  and  upon  this  sub-structure  to  place  strong 
timbers  upright  and  near  together.  The  heavy  covering  of 
roofs  made  it  necessary  that  the  supports  should  be  strong. 
The  spaces  between  the  timbers  were  filled  with  clay  mixed 
with  chopped  straw.  In  describing  walls  used  in  Roman 
Britain  for  various  purposes,  Mr.  G.  Baldwin  Brown  gives 
the  following  Ust: 

"(1)  The  'opus  quadratum,'  or  construction  with 
large  square  stones;  (2)  the  massif  of  rubble  concrete  or 
'structura  caementicia'  faced  with  small  parallel-piped 
stones  with  or  without  binding  courses  of  brick;  (3)  the 
'opus  testaceum'  where  the  fabric  or  skin  of  a  structure  is 
of  brick;  (4)  the  plain  wall  of  irregular  stone-work  with 
no  special  facing  or  technique;  and  finally  (5)  the  light 
partition  of  wood-work  and  plaster.  "^^ 

OBJECTS  FOUND.  . 

More  articles  of  bronze  than  of  iron  are  found  in  Roman 
ruins  in  England,  the  latter  metal  corrodes  so  certainly. 
Comparatively  few  domestic  utensils  appear.  Numerous 
querns  or  hand-mills,  for  grinding  grain  into  flour  just 
before  using  the  latter,  are  turned  up.  So,  too,  are  balances 
which  are  like  our  steelyards.  Two  large  and  interesting 
collections  of  tools  were  found  at  Silchester. 

Surgical  instruments  made  of  bronze  have  been  discovered. 
Great  varieties  of  fibulae,  brooches,  used  in  fastening  the 
outer  garment  or  cloak,  are  found  in  large  numbers  wherever 
Romans  have  lived.  Quantities  of  finger  rings  of  different 
shapes  and  sizes,  some  of  excellent  design,  appear.  Some 
of  them  have  engraved  stones  remaining  in  them.  Collars, 
necklaces  and  bracelets  turn  up  in  the  excavations.    Jet 


21  The  Arts  in  early  England,  by  G.  Baldwin  Brown,  Vol.  II,  p.  3. 


17 

ornaments  are  especially  in  evidence  in  the  museum  at 
York.  Long  pins  of  metal  or  bone  are  found  in  immense 
numbers.  Occasionally  fragments  of  stone  statuary,  and 
bronze  images  are  unearthed, 

Roman  coins  are  found  everywhere;  there  were  native 
coins  also.  Money  was  coined  in  Britain  before  the  Romans 
took  possession  of  the  island.  Camulodunum  and  Londinium 
had  the  privilege  of  mints,  and  coins  were  struck  elsewhere 
in  the  time  of  the  Romans. 

MUSEUMS. 

There  are  many  museums  in  England  which  have  rich 
collections  of  Roman  antiquities.  The  one  in  the  British 
Museum  is  very  valuable.  At  Shrewsbury,  where,  as  stated 
before,  there  is  a  museum,  the  objects  of  interest  dug  up 
at  Uriconium  offer  an  imposing  display.  One  of  the  most 
important  collections  is  in  the  grounds  and  museum  of  the 
Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society  at  York.  The  articles 
found  at  Silchester  have  been  deposited  in  the  public 
museum  at  Reading.  There  they  are  admirably  exhibited. 
Instructive  models  have  been  provided  and  a  guide  book 
has  been  prepared  by  the  leading  authority  on  the  subject, 
Mr.   George  E.   Fox,   Honorary  Curator.^^ 

There  is  an  excellent  museum  at  Colchester  and  a  good 
one  at  Cirencester,  and  there  are  many  other  collections 
which  may  be  readily  found  by  the  use  of  a  good  guide 
book  of  Great  Britain. 

WALLED   TOWTNS. 

Among  the  principal  walled  towns  of  Roman  England 
were  Eboracum  (York),  the  metropolis  of  the  north  and 
one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  city  in  the  country  during 
the  period  of  greatest  Roman  prosperity;  Lindum  (Lincoln), 
which  has  one  of  the  most  striking  of  Roman  remains  in 
Britain,  in  the  presence  there  of  the  Newport  Arch,  which 
formed  the  north  entrance  to  the  town  through  the  wall; 
Camulodunum  (Colchester);  Londinium  (London);  Calleva 
Atrebatum    (Silchester);    Venta    Belgarum    (Winchester); 

"  See  short  list  of  authorities  at  the  end  of  the  paper. 


4' 


18 

Aquse  Solis  (Bath);  Glevum  (Gloucester);  Corinium  (Cir- 
encester); Uriconium  (Wroxeter);  Deva  (Chester);  Isca 
Silurum  (Caerleon-on-Usk);  and  Venta  Siluruni  (Caerwent). 

The  walls  of  Camiilodunum  are  now  under  the  control 
of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Colchester,  and  Mr,  Hem-y 
Lavcr,  F.  S.  A.,  of  that  place  has  been  appointed  custodian 
of  them.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  examining  portions  of  the 
walls  under  his  guidance.  They  are  almost  complete  in 
circuit,  although  not  so  high  as  formerly.  The  casing  too, 
of  shaped  stones  and  tiles  on  both  sides  is  generally  gone. 
Although  in  some  places  a  portion  remains  there  is  usually 
found  only  the  rubble,  and  mortar  in  which  it  is  embedded. 
An  increased  thickness  in  the  wall  at  one  place  was,  it  is 
likely,  given  to  it  to  afford,  as  in  other  cities,  a  platform 
for  catapults.  An  arched  gate  in  the  city  walls  remains. 
A  room  on  the  side  of  this  shows  walls  in  an  excellent  state 
of  preservation.  The  casing  exhibits  alternate  horizontal 
portions  consisting  of  two  feet  of  well-laid  stones  and  four 
layers  of  tiles.  The  tiles,  as  is  usual  in  the  inner  and  outer 
faces  of  Roman  walls  in  Britain,  only  extend  through  the 
facing.  The  venerable  town  of  Colchester  occupies  a  site 
which  was  not  only  the  position  of  a  Roman  town  but  also 
furnished  quarters  for  the  King  of  the  Trinobantes, 
400  B.  C.  There  are  coins  belonging  to  the  town  bearing 
date  of  250  B.  C. 

London  was  not  the  first  place  in  importance  during 
the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain.  Tacitus  is  said  to  be 
the  first  Roman  historian  to  mention  Londinium.  He 
does  not  speak  of  it  as  the  capital  of  Britain,  or  even  as 
endowed  with  the  privileges  and  rights  of  a  colony  or 
municipium.  Camulodunum  was  a  colony  and  Verulamium 
a  municipium. 

The  walls,  when  the  Romans  left  the  country,  reached 
from  Ludgate,  on  the  west,  to  the  Tower,  on  the  east,  about 
one  mile  in  length,  and  from  London  Wall  to  the  Thames, 
half  a  mile;  at  an  earlier  period  they  were  more  confined. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  baths  excavated  at  AqusD 
Solis  (Bath)  are  the  most  extensive  and  perfect  yet  dis- 
covered in  Roman  Britain. 


19 

The  walls  of  Chester,  although  they  contain  material 
from  those  built  earlier  are  not,  as  they  now  stand,  of 
Roman  construction.     They  are  mediaeval. 

PLACES  WHERE  EXCAVATIONS  HAVE  BEEN  MADE. 

It  is  evident  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  extensive 
excavations  in  thickly  settled  places  such  as  London,  York, 
Chester,  Lincoln  and  Colchester.  Reliance  has  to  be  placed 
mainly  upon  observations  made  when  trenches  for  sewers, 
etc.,  and  cellars  are  dug. 

At  Silchester  and  Wroxeter,  however,  the  sites  of  the 
old  Roman  walled  cities  of  Calleva  Atrebatum  and  Urico- 
nium,  nearly  the  entire  area  formerly  occupied  by  them  is 
vacant. 

At  Caerwent  (Venta  Silurum)  I  understand  that  about 
three-quarters  of  the  space  within  the  walls  is  available 
for  excavation.  In  these  cities  excavations  of  Roman 
towns  have  been  more  or  less  systematically  conducted 
during  the  last  fifty  years.  Those  at  Uriconium  were  made 
in  1859-1861  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Wright,  M,  A., 
F,  S.  A.,  for  the  Shropshire  Antiquarian  Society. 

The  site  of  Calleva  Atrebatum  (Silchester)  is  a  portion 
of  a  farm  on  the  estates  of  the  Duke  of  WelHngton  in  Hamp- 
shire. Some  excavations  had  been  made  there  earlier, 
but  the  real  beginning  of  the  exploration  of  the  site  took 
place  about  November,  1864,  when  Rev.  James  Gerald 
Joyce  undertook  its  supervision,  upon  a  plan  accepted  by 
the  second  Duke.  That  gentleman  carried  on  the  work 
from  time  to  time  until  his  death  in  1878.  It  was  then 
continued  by  rectors  of  Stratfieldsaye  and  Silchester  and 
^fr.  Hilton  Price.  An  interval  of  five  years  followed,  after 
which  the  work  was  renewed  in  1890,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  the  very  competent  direc- 
tion of  George  Edward  Fox,  Esq.,  Hon.  M.  A.,  (Oxon.) ,  F.  S.  A., 
and  W.  H.  St.  John  Hope,  Esq.,  M.  A.,  Assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  the  almost  constant, 
immediate  supervision  of  Mr.  Mill  Stephenson,  an  able 
antiquary  and  conductor  of  excavations.  The  trenching 
has  been  made  in  a  most  systematic  manner  every  year 


20 

since  it  was  resumed  and  the  work  will  be  finished,  I  under- 
stand, in  about  three  years. 

Excavations  at  Venta  Silurum  (Caerwent)  were  begun 
in  August,  1899.  They  are  conducted  by  competent 
directors,  under  the  approval  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
and  the  discoveries  made  are  carefully  reported  in  succes- 
sive volumes  of  Archaeologia.  It  should  be  remarked  that 
the  excavations  now  making  at  Silchester  and  Caerwent 
are  being  conducted  by  gentlemen  who  are  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  men  of  science  and  their  work  is  very  thoroughly 
and  accurately  done  and  recorded. 

At  Silchester  when  an  insula  has  been  excavated  and  plans 
and  measurements  have  been  secured  the  ruins  are  covered 
up  again.  Such  a  course  is  required  by  the  contract  with 
the  farmer  who  leases  the  site  of  the  city,  but  it  is  also 
important  for  the  preservation  of  the  remains.  That 
fact  is  shown  by  the  disintegration  of  portions  left  exposed 
by  the  late  Mr.  Joyce.  At  Uriconium  considerable  portions 
of  ruins  remain  in  sight  and  even  at  Caerwent  many  founda- 
tions can  be  seen.  It  is  rendered  possible  in  the  latter  case 
to  allow  excavated  remains  to  lie  open  for  a  longer  time  than 
at  Silchester  because  so  large  portions  of  the  ground  are 
owned  by  Lord  Tredegar,  who  takes  a  great  interest  in  the 
work,  or  are  controlled  by  him  and  the  committee  in  charge^ 

URICONIUM. 

The  Roman  remains  thus  far  laid  bare  at  Uriconium  are 
shown  clearly  in  Plan  No.  I.  They  consist  of  a  fragment 
of  the  basilica;  a  little  more  than  half  of  the  great  baths  of 
the  city;  the  foundations  of  two  shops;  and  a  courtyard 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  cells,  with  gateways  to  the 
street  on  the  fourth.  This  courtyard,  paved  with  small 
bricks  laid  herringbone  fashion,  has  been  considered  a 
market-place,  but  Mr.  George  E.  Fox,  whose  description 
of  discoveries  at  Uriconium  I  am  following  closely,  says 
that  "a  portion  at  least  may  have  formed  a  fuel  store  for 
the  baths,  as  both  charcoal  and  mineral  coal  were  found  in 
one  of  the  compartments."^ 


"  Guide  to  the  Roman  City  of  Uriconium  by  George  E.  Fox.     pp.  9  and  10. 


21 

The  fragment  of  the  basilica  is  the  most  conspicuous 
object  in  the  ruins.  It  consists  of  "a  great  mass  of  masonry 
of  considerable  length  which  stands  high  above  all  the  rest 
of  the  remains.  (See  A.  on  Plan  No.  I.)  This  broken 
mass  of  wall  formed  a  portion  of  the  end  of  what  was  the 
largest  building  of  the  Roman  city,  viz.:  the  civil  basilica, 
an  edifice  which  contained  both  law  courts  and  an  exchange, 
and  served  also  as  a  covered  place  of  assembly  for  the 
citizens  on  public  occasions.  Of  this  great  building  (No. 
1.)  nothing  now  remains  above  ground  except  the  bulky 
fragment  just  mentioned.  The  foundations  however  have 
been  traced  in  the  fields  to  the  north  of  it,  and  we  know 
this  much,  that  it  was  a  huge  hall,  229  feet  long  and  67 
feet  wide,  divided  by  two  rows  of  columns  into  a  central 
naA^e  with  aisles  on  either  side.  Mosaic  pavements  adorned 
the  aisles,  and  the  nave  was  floored  with  small  bricks  laid 
in  herringbone  fashion,"^  The  Public  Baths  lay  to 
the  south  of  the  basilica.  Besides  the  rooms  mentioned 
on  the  plan,  namely,  the  vaulted  apodyterium  (undressing 
room)  which  was  entered  from  the  basilica  or  great  hall 
on  the  north,  by  the  doorway  now  represented  by  the 
large  hole  in  the  mass  of  walling  at  A;  the  tepidarium  (room 
moderately  warmed);  the  sudatoria  (hot-air  bath-rooms); 
the  caldaria  (rooms  with  hot-water  baths)  and  frigidarium 
(room  with  cold-water  bath),  there  were  two  little  rooms 
(9-9)^  floored  with  red  bricks  which  were  probably  for 
keeping  the  articles  required  during  the  difl"erent  processes 
of  bathing. 

A  strigil,  or  curved  metal  instrument  was  used  for  remov- 
ing perspiration,  where  we  use  a  sponge  and  soap.  "There 
may  have  been  a  swimming  bath  in  10,  but  this  part  of  the 
ruins  is  buried  beneath  a  huge  mound  of  earth,  and  little 
is  known  concerning  it.  If  "we  add  that  the  courtyard  of 
the  baths  was  used  for  various  garner,  and  that  the  covered 
walks  (peristyles),"  which  surrounded  the  entire  enclosure 
containing  the  baths  and  their  accompaniments,  "served  for 


**  Guide,  p.  4. 

^  One  of  the  two  little  rooms  indicated  as  "9-9"  is  numbered  "5"  on  Plan  I. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  room  marked  9  in  the  plan  may  have  been  used  for 
the  closing  process  of  rubbing  the  bather  with  oil. 


22 

exercise  and  conversation,  we  have  mentioned  in  brief  the 
chief  uses  of  the  estabhshment.  "^ 

It  seems  proper  here  to  give  a  short  account  of  the  system 
of  heating  buildings  among  the  Romans  in  Britain  and 
for  that  purpose  I  introduce  one  of  the  descriptions  of 
Mr.  Fox.  That  system,  he  says,  "was  Hke  one  in  use  at 
the  present  day,  viz. :  by  hot  air,  but  was  unlilvc  our  method 
which  employs  metal  pipes  through  which  the  heated  air 
passes,  sunk  in  trenches  in  the  floors,  covered  by  gratings, 
or  placed  along  the  walls.  Instead  of  this,  in  Roman 
times,  little  columns  usually  of  brick,  set  very  close  together, 
were  erected  on  a  firm  floor  of  cement,  and  on  the  top  of 
these  columns  was  laid  another  floor  from  five  inches  to  one 
foot  thick,  so  that  there  was  a  space  between  the  two  floors, 
called  a  hypocaust,  which  varied  in  height  according  to 
circumstances.  In  these  baths  at  Uriconium,  the  little 
columns  which  supported  the  upper  floor  were  more  than 
three  feet  high.  A  small  opening  in  the  outer  wall  of  the 
chambers  allowed  of  the  introduction  of  fuel,  which  when 
lighted  and  continually  fed  from  without,  filled  all  the  space 
beneath  the  upper  floor  with  flame  and  heat.  Nor  was 
this  all;  flue  pipes  communicating  with  this  heating  cham- 
ber ran  up  the  walls,  and  the  heat  radiated  from  these 
pipes  warmed  the  room.  The  flue  pipes  were  sunk  in  the 
walls  and  plastered  over,  so  that  they  could  only  be  detected 
by  the  warmth  spread  around.  In  rooms  which  had  to 
be  extra  heated  the  whole  surface  of  the  walls  was  lined  by 
pipes,  the  heat  being  given  out  from  the  entire  wall  faces.  "^ 

It  will  be  seen  by  looking  at  the  map  of  Uriconium 
(Plan  No.  2.)  that  the  ruins  which  have  been  uncovered 
occupied  but  a  small  portion  of  the  area  of  the  site  of  the 
city  and  that  they  stand  near  the  middle  of  it.  The  walls 
surrounded  a  pear-shaped  enclosure  of  about  170  acres. 
Their  circuit  was  rather  more  than  three  miles.  It  thus 
appears  that  compared  with  the  size  of  other  walled  towns 
in  Roman  Britain,  Uriconium  was  a  large  place.  Mr. 
Scarth  says  the  city  "seems  only  to  have  been  fortified  with 


so  Guide  p.  6. 

"  Guide,  pp.  7  and  8 


f 

i  . 


>i 


23 

an  earthern  rampart  and  ditch.  "^  Mr.  J.  Corbet  Anderson 
writes  that  "Hartshorne  estimated  the  vallum  to  have 
once  been  fifteen  feet  in  height,  but  a  recent  excavation, 
made  where  it  is  most  prominent,  showed  it  to  be  raised 
only  nine  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  ditch;  the  fosse 
was  found  to  be  ninety-five  feet  wide.  Examined  at 
various  points  it  has  been  ascertained  that  this  wall  is 
formed  merely  of  a  bank  of  rubble,  faced  outwardly  with  a 
mass  of  clay,  or  of  small  stone  boulders  set  in  clay.  "^  North- 
east of  the  city  there  was  a  cemetery,  that  bordered  on  the 
great  Roman  road,  the  Watling  street,  which  entered  the 
place  from  that  direction.  "Like  other  Roman  towns" 
in  Britain,  "the  area  enclosed  by  the  city  wall  was  probably 
divided  by  streets  into  squares,  much  after  the  fashion 
of  a  modern  American  city,  but  of  this  we  cannot  be  sure. 
It  is  possible  the  place  sprung  up  along  an  ancient  line 
of  roadway  leading  to  a  frequented  ford  over  the  Severn, 
which  river  lines  part  of  its  western  side.  After  a  time 
the  open  town  would  be  surrounded  for  defence  by  a  ditch 
and  wall.'""^ 

We  know  nothing  of  the  history  of  Uriconium,  but,  in 
an  old  Welsh  poem  there  is  a  vivid  description  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  city  on  the  Welsh  border  which  with  great  likelihood 
has  been  identified  with  the  place  under  consideration. 
The  statements  in  the  poem  when  compared  with  a  pas- 
sage in  the  Saxon  Chronicle  make  it  not  improbable  that 
Uriconium  was  taken  and  demolished  by  Ceawlin  in  the 
year  584.  "The  period  of  the  poem  and  of  the  raid  coincide, 
and  both  have  to  do  with  the  same  district."*^ 

"Be  this  as  it  may,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  the  city  and 
its  inhabitants  perished  by  fire  and  sword.  Everywhere, 
when  the  earth  which  covers  its  remains  is  turned  over, 
it  is  found  to  be  black  from  the  burning,  and  plain  traces 
of  the  massacre  of  the  citizens  showed  themselves  when  the 
ruins,  amongst  which  the  visitor  strays,  were  excavated." 


«»  Scarth,  p.  136. 
"  Anderson,  p.  2. 
•»  Guide,  p.  11. 
««  Guide,  p   12. 
♦»  Guide,  p.  12. 


24 

The  name  of  the  city  whether  Urieonium  or  Viriconium, 
has  been  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  famous  hill, 
or  small  mountain,  Wrekin,  near  which  it  lies.  Mr.  E.  W. 
B.  Nicholson,  Librarian  of  the  Bodleian  Library  of  Oxford 
University,  in  a  recent  pamphlet,  says  that  the  name 
"'Urieonium'  should  be  discarded  altogether."^  "The 
name  Viriconium,"  he  writes,  "is  Keltic  with  Latinized 
ending  (-um  for  — on),  and  is  a  dog-name.  It  is  derived 
from  that  of  a  man  called  Virocuo  (gen. — kunos — konos)  or 
Viroconos,  meaning  'man-hound'  or  'male-hound.'"^  I 
give  this  derivation  of  Mr.  Nicholson  without  having  the 
knowledge  needed  to  weigh  its  correctness. 

SILCHESTER. 

The  walls  of  Silchester  (Calleva  Atrebatum)  are  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  in  circuit  and  the  space  within  them  is 
100  acres,  which  is  a  little  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  area  of 
Pompeii.  "VlHiile  it  is  a  smaller  place  than  Urieonium  (Wroxe- 
ter)  or  Verulamium  (St.  Albans)  it  is  a  city  of  considerable 
size  and  compares  favorably  in  that  respect  with  other  walled 
towns  in  Roman  Britain. 

The  walls  enclose  an  irregular  octagon  whose  longest 
side  is  towards  the  northeast.  They  are  twenty-one  feet 
high  near  the  south  gate  and  elsewhere,  and  in  other 
places  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height.  They  are  about  ten 
feet  thick.  "They  are,"  says  Mr.  Fox,  "of  the  usual 
construction  of  Roman  city  walls"  in  England  "excepting 
that  the  tile  courses,  so  prominent  a  feature  in  Roman 
camps  and  towns,  are  here  supplied  by  lines  of  fiat  stones, 
and  that  the  intermediate  facing  courses  are  laid  here  and 
there  in  herringbone  fashion,"*^  As  Silchester  is  in  a 
country  where  stone  is  scarce,  pieces  of  flint,  tied  together 
with  mortar  are  largely  used  in  the  facing  of  the  walls. 
They  are  lined  within  throughout  their  entire  circuit  by 
an  earthen  mound,  and  inside  also  there  occur  at  intervals 
what  look  like  buttresses  projecting  inwards.    These  are 


*^  Vinisiiis  to  Nigra,  p.  43. 

"  Ibid.,  prige  10. 

*'  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Feb.  27,  1890,  p.  86  or  p.  87. 


25 

regarded  as  the  foundations  of  towers  which  stood  astride 
the  walls.  The  shape  of  the  walls  was  influenced  by  the 
fact  that  the  city  was  built  inside  of  British  earthworks 
which,  with  a  ditch  in  front,  encircled  an  early  camp  of 
refuge.  Of  those  pre-Roman  fortifications  remains  are  still 
visible.  The  irregular  plans  of  Silchester  were  shared  by 
Uriconium  and  Verulamium,  but  were  quite  unlike  the 
rectangular  areas  within  the  walls  of  Glevum  (Gloucester), 
Camulodunum  (Colchester)  and  Lindum  (Lincoln)  or  the 
roughly  rectangular  space  occupied  by  Venta  Silurum 
(Caerwent).  A  wide  ditch,  clearly  traceable  for  most  of 
the  circuit  completes  the  defence  of  Silchester. 

"The  mural  barrier  is  pierced  by  five  gates,  north,  south, 
east  and  west.  Two  of  these  occur  at  the  eastern  angle 
of  the  city;  one  a  mere  postern,  being  evidently  to  give  access 
to  an  amphitheatre  situated  about  300  feet  east  of  the 
eastern  angle  of  the  city.  This  amphitheatre  is  formed 
of  mounds  of  earth  in  the  well  known  manner  of  those  of 
Durnovaria  (Dorchester)  and  Corinium  (Cirencester)  "^ 
There,  wTites  Mr.  Fox,  "for  the  townsf oiks'  pleasure,  bull- 
baiting  and  bear-baiting  were  exhibited,  possibly  theat- 
rical representations  very  occasionally,  and  yet  more  rarely 
combats  of  gladiators."*^ 

Silchester  has  sloping  ground.  The  land  is  generally 
level,  especially  in  the  northern  half  of  the  site,  and  there 
is  a  broad  flat  ridge  running  from  the  north  to  the  south 
gate;  but  on  the  east  side  of  this  ridge  a  deep  valley  extends 
from  near  the  centre  of  the  city  in  a  south-easterly  direc- 
tion, and  the  ground  also  falls  away  somewhat  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  site."*^ 

Within  the  ring  of  the  walls  are  three  fields  traversed 
east  and  west  by  a  comparatively  modern  road  and  the 
only  buildings  to  be  seen  are  the  church  of  Silchester,  the 
old  Manor  House,  and  those  of  a  farm  yard.  All  else  is 
open  and  bare. 

The  Roman  city  had  streets  running  from  north  to  south 
and  at  right  angles  to  them  from  east  to  west.     One  of 

"  Ibid. 

♦'  Guide,  pp.  6  and  7. 

♦*  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Feb.  27,  1890,  p.  88. 


26 

them,  a  main  line  of  communication,  has  a  perfectly  straight 
course  from  the  north  to  the  south  gate,  whilst  another  crosses 
it  at  right  angles.  Coming  from  the  west  gate  it  ran  past 
Insulae  XI.,  X.,  IX.,  I.,  XXI.,  and  XXVII,  but  a  discovery 
made  in  1902  suggests  that  it  was  then  so  deflected  as  to 
pass  out  straight  through  the  east  gate,  at  right  angles  to 
the  section  of  the  wall  in  which  the  gate  is  set. 

Little  is  known  of  the  history  of  Silchester.  A  few  facts 
can  be  gathered  from  examination  of  the  remains. 

It  is  evident,  for  example,  that  the  basilica  and  the  adja- 
cent buildings  were  burnt  down  at  one  time  and  it  is  conjec- 
tured that  this  catastrophe  occurred  during  commotions 
in  the  province  towards  the  close  of  the  third  century. 

Silchester,  writes  Mr.  Fox,  "Certainly  was  not  taken  by 
the  Saxons,  for  there  are  no  traces  of  the  burning  and 
massacre  which  would  have  accompanied  such  an  event. 
All  that  can  be  surmised  is  that  it  gradually  perished  by 
slow  decay  and  abandonment."*^  Such  an  ending  makes 
the  gleaning  for  objects  of  interest  meagre,  as  things  of  value 
and  use  were  carried  off  by  inhabitants  as  they  left  the  city 
or  were  appropriated  by  plunderers.  In  the  main  the 
dependence  for  discoveries  of  this  kind  must  be  upon 
rubbish  pits  and  broken  and  discarded  objects  left  behind. 
It  is  remarkable  that  so  large  and  instructive  a  collection 
could  be  found  as  that  on  exhibition  at  the  museum  in 
Reading.  It  is  believed  that  if  Uriconium  were  to  be 
systematically  and  extensively  excavated  our  knowledge 
of  Roman  antiquities  would  be  largely  added  to,  since 
that  place,  as  has  been  previously  stated,  was  evidently 
destroyed  suddenly  and  burned. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  portion  of  the  entrance 
at  the  west  gate  of  Silchester  is  blocked  up,  the  fact  indi- 
cating that  at  some  period  in  its  history  it  felt  its  weakness 
and  thus  rendered  it  easier  to  defend  the  city.  A  similar 
expedient  was  resorted  to  at  Caerwent. 

The  importance  of  Silchester  as  a  city  is  attested  by  the 
number  of  roads  on  which  it  is  found.  "It  stands  at  the 
point  of  junction  of  two  main  lines,  one  running  up  from 


"  Guide,  p.  7. 


ST  R  €CT 


'wn    ^ 


r  0   R   u   M 
c 

1- 


TTT 


TTI 


J 

1 

il  !! 

STRICT 

I             \i 

bi 

< 

- 

w 

SCALC 

ISO  Ptet 

1 

PLAN   OF   BUtLtJINGS    UNCOVERED   ON    THE   SI  IK  OE    I'RICONIl'M. 


27 

the  south  coast,  the  other  coming  from  Londinium,  passing 
through  Calleva  (Silchester)  towards  Corinium  and  so  on 
into  Wales,  "^  In  the  Itinera  of  Antonine  the  last  four 
mentioned  are:  Silchester  to  Wroxeter;  Caerleon-on-Usk 
to  Silchester;  Caerleon-on-Usk  to  Silchester,  by  another 
route;  and  Silchester  to  Exeter. 

In  every  important  Roman  town  the  forum  was  the  centre 
of  life.  There  the  events  of  the  day  and  private  concerns 
were  discussed.  The  retail  shop-keeper  offered  his  goods 
for  sale  in  the  same  place,  frequently.  Wholesale  merchants 
met  and  transacted  business.  There  revenues  were  paid 
into  the  treasury  and  justice  was  administered  by  magis- 
trates. 

Few  forums  have  been  uncovered,  however.  A  fine 
example  may  be  seen  at  Pompeii.  The  only  one  that  has 
been  excavated  in  'England  is  the  forum  of  Silchester. 
Taking  the  text  of  Vitruvius  as  our  guide,  writes  Mr.  Joyce, 
"we  are  met  by  the  very  singular  paradox  that  at  Pompeii, 
where  a  forum  of  the  Greek  type  would  almost  of  necessity 
be  the  one  adopted,  we  find  a  distinctly  Latin  one  and 
contrariwise  at  Silchester  where  we  should  assuredly  have 
looked  for  a  purely  Latin  forum,  we  have  a  most  marked 
and  distinct  example  of  the  Greek  type.  At  Pompeii  the 
length  of  the  area  is  not  less  than  three  and  a  half  times 
its  width,  and  a  single  colonnade  runs  the  whole  length 
of  its  sides.  At  Silchester,  the  plan,  though  not  absolutely 
square,  is  very  nearly  so,  and  this  square-shaped  area  is 
surrounded  on  its  three  exterior  sides  by  the  double  ambu- 
latory. "'^ 

The  researches  of  Mr.  Joyce,  made  in  1867  to  1873  have 
been  carefully  reconsidered  by  the  gentlemen  who  are  at 
present  engaged  in  supervising  the  excavations  at  Silchester. 
I  proceed  to  quote  from  a  report  of  their  work  published 
in  Archaeologia. 

"The  forum  proper  consists  of  an  open  area  about  142 
feet  long  from  north  to  south,  by  130  feet  wide  from  east 
to  west.      On   three   sides,   north,    east,   and   south,    this 


"  Proceedings  of  Soo  ety  of  Antiquaries.  Feb.  27.  1890,  p,  86. 
«  Archaeologia,  Vol.  XL VI..  Pt.  II..  p.  350. 


27 

the  south  coast,  the  other  coming  from  Londinium,  passing 
through  Calleva  (Silchester)  towards  Corinium  and  so  on 
into  Wales.  "^  In  the  Itinera  of  Antonine  the  last  four 
mentioned  are:  Silchester  to  Wroxeter;  Caerleon-on-Usk 
to  Silchester;  Caerleon-on-Usk  to  Silchester,  by  another 
route;  and  Silchester  to  Exeter. 

In  every  important  Roman  town  the  forum  was  the  centre 
of  life.  There  the  events  of  the  day  and  private  concerns 
were  discussed.  The  retail  shop-keeper  offered  his  goods 
for  sale  in  the  same  place,  frequently.  Wholesale  merchants 
met  and  transacted  business.  There  revenues  were  paid 
into  the  treasury  and  justice  was  administered  by  magis- 
trates. 

Few  forums  have  been  uncovered,  however.  A  fine 
example  may  be  seen  at  Pompeii.  The  only  one  that  has 
been  excavated  in  England  is  the  forum  of  Silchester. 
Taking  the  text  of  Vitruvius  as  our  guide,  writes  Mr.  Joyce, 
"we  are  met  by  the  very  singular  paradox  that  at  Pompeii, 
where  a  forum  of  the  Greek  type  would  almost  of  necessity 
be  the  one  adopted,  we  find  a  distinctly  Latin  one  and 
contrariwise  at  Silchester  where  we  should  assuredly  have 
looked  for  a  purely  Latin  forum,  we  have  a  most  marked 
and  distinct  example  of  the  Greek  type.  At  Pompeii  the 
length  of  the  area  is  not  less  than  three  and  a  half  times 
its  width,  and  a  single  colonnade  runs  the  whole  length 
of  its  sides.  At  Silchester,  the  plan,  though  not  absolutely 
square,  is  very  nearly  so,  and  this  square-shaped  area  is 
surrounded  on  its  three  exterior  sides  by  the  double  ambu- 
latory."" 

The  researches  of  Mr.  Joyce,  made  in  1867  to  1873  have 
been  carefully  reconsidered  by  the  gentlemen  who  are  at 
present  engaged  in  supervising  the  excavations  at  Silchester. 
I  proceed  to  quote  from  a  report  of  their  work  published 
in  Archaeologia. 

"The  forum  proper  consists  of  an  open  area  about  142 
feet  long  from  north  to  south,  by  130  feet  wide  from  east 
to  west.      On   three   sides,   north,    east,   and   south,    this 


»•  Proceedings  of  Soc  ety  of  Antiquaries,  Feb.  27.  1890.  p.  86. 
"  Archaeologia,  Vol.  XL VI.,  Pt.  II..  p.  350. 


28 

area  is  lined  by  ambulatories;  the  western  side  is  bounded 
by  the  wall  of  the  basilica,  and  here  the  ambulatory  is 
wanting.  Behind  the  ambulatories,  and  sheltered  by 
them,  Ues  a  line  of  chambers,  mostly  rectangular  in  plan, 
with  some  amongst  them  notably  differing  from  that  form. 
External  to  all  occurs  another  ambulatory,  which  surrounds 
not  only  the  forum  but  the  basilica  and  its  dependencies, 
being  broken,  perhaps,  by  projections  of  the  north  and 
south  ends  of  the  latter  building.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  various  offices  and  chambers  of  the  forum  lie  between 
two  lines  of  ambulatories,  an  inner  and  an  outer  one.  The 
roofs  of  these  ambulatories  were,  presumably,  supported  by 
columns.  "^^  The  main  entrance  into  the  forum  was  a  feature 
in  its  architecture  and  resembled  a  triumphal  arch.  The 
chambers  on  the  north  and  east  sides  of  the  forum  were 
quite  possibly  shops.  On  the  south  side  were  two  apsidal 
chambers  alternating  with  square  ones.  It  is  very  prob- 
able that  all  these  rooms  were  used  by  the  governing  body 
of  the  city  as  offices  of  some  sort,  or  courts  connected  with 
the  forum.  The  walls  of  the  ranges  of  buildings  on  the 
three  sides  of  the  forum  were  of  flint  rubble  bonded  with 
brick,  and  varying  in  thickness  from  two  feet,  three  inches 
to  three  feet,  seven  inches.  They  were  quite  capable  of 
sustaining  an  upper  story,  as  well  as  the  heavy  roof,  which  was 
covered  either  by  large  Roman  tiles  or  hexagonal  stone  slabs. 
The  basilica  ''lies  north  and  south  and  occupies  the  whole 
width  of  the  forum.  Its  eastern  wall  bounded  the  forum 
area;  its  western  was  lined  by  a  range  of  chambers  and 
halls,  which  were  limited  by  the  return  of  the  outer  ambula- 
tory, that  here  borders  the  great  street  running  from  the 
north  to  the  south  gate  of  the  city.  The  basilica  had  the 
form  of  a  long  rectangular  hall,  233  feet  6  inches  in  length 
by  58  feet  in  width.  At  each  end  was  a  semi-circular  apse, 
27  feet  9  inches  wide,  by  18  feet  2  inches  deep.  The  total 
internal  length  of  the  edifice  amounted  therefore  to  269 
feet  10  inches.  In  the  centre  of  the  western  side  was  an- 
other apse,  38  feet  wide."^^    As  stated  before  the  basilica 


"  Ibid..  V.  53.  Pt.  II,  p.  542. 

"  Archaeologia.  Vol.  LIII.,  Pt.  II,  p.  549. 


29      • 

was  burnt  down.  It  was  rebuilt,  however,  and,  as  it  seems, 
on  the  former  lines,  the  original  plan  not  having  been 
departed  from  excepting  in  the  interior  where  alterations 
were  made. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  ranges  of  chambers  in  the  forum, 
and  the  other  important  buildings  in  the  city,  the  walls 
of  the  basilica  consisted  of  flint  rubble  with  binding  and 
lacing  courses  of  tiles.  The  interior  appears  to  have  been 
divided  into  a  nave  and  aisles.  "Each  of  the  smaller  apses, 
with  a  portion  of  the  nave  and  aisles  screened  off  in  front 
of  it,  may  have  served  the  purpose  of  a  court  of  justice; 
the  central  one,  with  a  screen  on  the  top  line  of  its  steps  of 
ascent,  as  a  Curia  for  the  governing  body  of  the  city,  and 
the  space  in  front  of  it  .  .  as  a  place  of  assembly  of 
the  citizens  on  occasions  of  political  importance."^ 

The  type  of  the  private  houses  in  Roman  Britain  was 
very  different  from  the  one  which  prevails  in  Southern 
Europe.  Protection  in  the  north  had  to  be  secured  from 
damp  and  cold;  in  the  south  from  Hght  and  heat.  The 
atrium  of  the  Pompeiian  house  with  its  open  compluvium 
in  the  roof  and  cistern  of  water,  impluvium,  in  the  floor, 
was  out  of  place  in  the  chmate  of  Britain.  There,  rooms 
had  to  be  arranged  for  the  cold  season  and  numerous  hypo- 
causts  provided  under  apartments  to  be  occupied  in  winter. 

Generally  speaking,  nothing  but  foundations  of  buildings 
are  found  in  Silchester.  These  are  always  of  rubble  com- 
posed of  flint  and  mortar.  It  is  generally  believed  that 
the  mortar  used  by  the  Romans  in  Britain  became  as  hard 
as  stone.  That  is  so  commonly  the  case  as  not  to  make  a 
statement  to  that  effect  especially  misleading.  Mr.  Mill 
Stephenson  informed  me,  however,  last  summer  that  he 
finds  much  mortar  that  crumbles  easily.  There  was  cheat- 
ing in  Britain  when  the  Romans  were  there  as  certainly 
as  there  is  to-day,  everywhere.  I  have  already  described 
the  character  of  the  walls  of  houses  as  seen  throughout 
Roman  Britain. 

In  Silchester  we  find  the  low  dwarf  walls  of  flint  masonry, 
remnants  of  floors,  a  layer  of  clay  from  the  falUng  in  of  the 


•*  Ibid.,  page  553. 


30 

superstructure,  (thick  in  the  loftier  rooms  and  thin  in 
the  low  corridors)  the  latter  strewn  with  fragments  of  the 
broken  roofs.  As  the  walls  of  the  earlier  houses  there 
were  18  inches  thick,  the  wooden  framing  must  have  been 
of  substantial  construction  and  formed  of  large  timbers, 
since  the  door  frames  and  their  sills  all  formed  part  of  it. 

"The  roof  coverings  of  the  houses  were  of  three  kinds, 
viz.: — thatch,  tile  and  stone.  The  stone  roofing  was  cut 
in  thin  slabs,  hexagonal  in  shape,  lapping  over  each  other 
like  fishes'  scales.  .  .  .  The  tiles  were  large  and  flat 
with  a  strongly  raised  edge  on  each  side.  They  were  nailed 
close  together  and  these  raised  edges  were  covered  by  semi- 
circular tiles  narrower  at  the  upper  end  but  broadening 
towards  the  bottom.  "^^ 

The  houses  of  Silchester  may  generally  speaking  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  viz: — those  with  a  courtyard  and 
those  consisting  of  a  row  of  chambers  lined  by  a  corridor 
on  one  or  both  sides.  To  this  second  kind,  as  well  as  to  the 
first,  chambers  are  sometimes  irregularly  attached.  In  a 
range  of  chambers  with  corridors  on  both  sides  the  former 
must  have  been  lighted  from  windows  placed  above  the 
latter.  "The  height  of  the  windows  from  the  floor  was 
no  disadvantage,"  however,  "as  windows,"  at  the  time 
and  in  the  place  spoken  of,  "were  only  intended  to  trans- 
mit light,  and  were  not  meant  for  looking  through."^ 
Window  glass  was  "rough  like  ground  glass"  on  one  side, 
"and  it  appears  that  it  was  cast  in  panes  of  varying  size 
in  moulds.  .  .  These  panes  were  set  in  frames  of  wood 
or  metal,  held  in  the  rabbet  prepared  for  them,  by  buttons. 
It  is  possible  that  they  may  have  been  occasionally  puttied 
into  the  frames.  "^^ 

The  floors  of  the  houses  in  Silchester  were  largely  of  mosaic 
or  opus  signinum.  "There  are  two  kinds  of  mosaics;  the 
one,  coarse  and  common,  composed  of  cubes  of  brick  or 
of  a  drab  sandstone,  and  measuring  a  little  over  an  inch 
square,  is  used  for  corridors  and  passages,  or  as  a  ground 
for  panels  of  finer  work.  In   the  second  kind   the  cubes 


"  Guide,  p.  12. 
"  Guide,  p.  10. 
"  Guide    p.  16. 


31 

are  not  more  than  half  an  inch  square,  and  are  of  various 
colors,  black,  cut  from  a  sandstone  from  the  south  of  Eng- 
land; white,  from  quarries  of  fine  limestone  in  Gloucester- 
shire or  from  beds  of  the  hard  chalk  in  the  Isle  of  Purbeck; 
grey,  produced  from  the  white  by  the  action  of  fire;  a  deep 
orange  also  from  a  sandstone;  a  pale  yellow  and  two  shades 
of  red  from  brick.  The  only  marble  used  is  the  Purbeck, 
and  it  may  here  be  observed  that  no  Roman  mosaics"  in 
Britain,  "with  rare  exceptions,  contain  material  drawn 
from  any  foreign  source.  "^^  Should  it  be  noticed  that  the 
pavements  in  Britain  do  not  show  quite  the  same  elegance 
as  the  best  in  the  south  of  Europe,  the  fact  may  probably 
be  largely  accounted  for  by  the  consideration  that  the 
coarser  materials  of  the  British  mosaics  did  not  permit  of 
the  same  nicety  of  workmanship  which  is  possible  in  marble. 

In  a  few  cases  an  imitation  of  the  kind  of  pavement 
known  as  opus  sectile  has  been  found  in  Silchester  in  which 
tiles  are  used  in  place  of  cut  stones,  and  spaces  between 
have  been  filled  with  cubes  after  the  manner  of  opus  tessel- 
latum.  "The  construction  of  the  tessellated  pavements 
followed  a  scarcely  varying  rule.  ...  On  the  earth 
was  laid  a  bed  of  coarse  gravelly  mortar,  4  to  5  inches 
thick,  and  upon  this  a  layer  of  fine  opus  signinum,  of  the 
kind  made  of  lime  cement  colored  with  pounded  brick, 
the  tessarae  of  the  floors  being  inserted  in  this  second  layer.  "^^ 
A  thin  fluid  cement  was  run  into  the  joints  of  the  tessarae 
before  the  final  polishing  took  place. 

"Opus  signinum,  or  the  variety  of  it  used  for  pavements 
has  scarcely  attracted,"  it  has  been  said,  "the  attention  it 
deserves.  Floors  of  this  material,  composed  of  small 
pieces  of  brick,  together  with  tiny  fragments  of  volcanic 
ash,  the  whole  bound  by  a  lime  cement,  are  of  as  common, 
if  not  commoner,  occurrence  in  Pompeii  than  those  com- 
posed of  tessellated  work.  Nor  are  they  confined  to  the 
meaner  rooms  of  the  houses  there;  very  frequently  the 
composition  named  forms  a  ground  in  which  are  bedded 
lines  of  white  marble  tessarae  arranged  in  elaborate  geomet- 


"  Guide,  pp.  12  and  13. 

"  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LII..  Pt.  II.  p.  736. 


32 

rical  patterns.  The  more  usual  method,  however,  when 
it  was  intended  to  enrich  such  a  floor  was  to  embed  in  it, 
in  quite  irregular  fashion,  any  small  fragments  of  the  much 
prized  varieties  of  marbles  or  rare  alabasters.  Pieces  of 
pavements  of  the  rarer  opus  seciile  are  thus  used  up  again, 
the  broken  fragments  of  the  flat  tile-like  hexagons,  circles 
and  squares,  of  which  they  were  composed,  being  embedded 
in  the  mass  of  the  floor.  "^" 

There  was  very  little  architectural  adornment  in  the 
houses  of  Silchester.  "Here  and  there  a  large  hall  was 
divided  by  a  couple  of  colunms,  or  columns  supported 
the  entrance  of  apses.  They  were  employed  to  give  dignity 
to  the  entrance  of  the  house  from  the  street.  In  houses 
of  the  full  courtyard  type,  where  the  courtyard  is  surrounded 
by  corridors  on  all  sides,  the  corridor  roofs  may  have  been 
supported  by  small  columns  standing  on  a  dwarf  wall, 
giving  the  enclosure  almost  the  look  of  a  mediaeval  cloister. 
But  the  glory  of  the  houses  was  in  their  profuse 
colouring.  "^^  From  fragments  of  wall  plasters  of  rooms 
turned  up  in  different  places  it  appears  that  the  principal 
ornamentation  of  the  walls  consisted  of  simple  panelled 
work  "formed  of  lines  in  different  colours  on  variously 
coloured  grounds; "^^  prevailing  tints  were  reds  and  yellows 
derived  from  the  ochres. 

The  dividing  lines  between  the  panels  not  infrequently 
had  ornamentation  of  various  kinds.  Decoration  was 
not  confined,  however,  to  mere  lines  of  one  colour  on  another 
coloured  ground.  In  one  house,  for  instance,  where  painted 
ornamental  forms  were  found,  there  were  traces  of  "golden- 
coloured  draperies  and  imitations  of  yellow  and  grey  mar- 
bles, no  doubt  suggested  by  the  marble  wall  linings  of 
important  buildings.  "^^  Architectural  forms  and  floral  and 
other  ornaments  were  pictured  on  the  walls.  "It  is  worth 
noting  . .  the  use  made  of  ears  of  barley,  which  the 
sight  of  the  harvest  fields  round  the  Roman  city  suggested  to 
the  painter.    Not  only  are  ears  of  barley  represented,  but 


•0  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LII.,  Pt.  II.  p.  749. 
"  Guide,  pp.  11  and  12. 
«'  Archaeologia.  Vol.  LIT..  Pt.  II.  p.  739. 
•»  Archaeoloaia.  Vol.  Ml..  Pt.  II..  p.  739. 


33 

also  the  flowers  so  often  found  growing  among  the  corn, 
the  corn-cockle,  if,  indeed,  the  dull  blue  quatre-foil  placed 
above  the  grey  circle  and  repeated  below  it  may  be  taken 
for  this  flower.  As  the  painters  of  southern  Europe  drew 
their  decorative  forms  from  the  flora  around  them,  from 
the  vine,  the  myrtle,  and  the  acanthus,  so  also  did  the 
artists"^  of  the  northern  island  of  Britain.  "Likewise  to 
be  noted  is  the  strong  similarity  in  the  technical  methods 
practised  in  Silchester  and  in  Italy.  After  the  walls  had 
received  the  finishing  coat  of  plaster,  the  setting-out  lines 
of  the  decoration  were  drawn  upon  the  surface  of  the  wall 
with  some  sharp  instrument,  probably  a  stylus.  The 
ground  colours  were  then  applied,  and  the  incised  lines 
showing  through  them  served  as  guides  for  the  application 
of  the  ornamentation."  As  the  incised  lines  are  found 
"filled  by  the  ground  colour,  they  must  have  been  incised 
in  the  plaster  surface  before  it  received  any  colouring. 
This  process  appears  to  have  been  used  in  decorative 
painting  in  Pompeii.  "^^ 

The  rooms  in  the  better  class  of  houses  in  Silchester, 
with  floors  of  mosaic  or  opus  signinum  and  walls  bright 
with  colour  and  attractive  through  other  decoration,  must 
have  been  cheerful  abodes.  From  all  that  we  know,  we 
cannot  but  believe  the  homes  of  the  Romans  in  Britain 
were  centres  of  culture  and  refinement.  Although  examples 
of  the  fine  arts  found  in  Silchester  and  elsewhere  are  not 
indicative  of  the  highest  attainments  in  such  directions, 
they  show  taste  and  knowledge. 

The  houses  are  very  generally  placed  along  the  streets 
inclosing  insulse,  or  blocks.  Sometimes  they  stand  at  an 
angle  to  the  streets.  The  insulae  in  a  few  cases  are  sur- 
rounded by  walls.  In  the  spaces  between  the  houses  are 
found  a  number  of  wells  and  numerous  rubbish  pits.  A 
portion  of  these  are  latrines.  It  is  in  the  pits  that  most 
of  the  smaller  objects  discovered  at  Silchester  are  found. 
The  water  supply  of  the  city  came  from  the  wells.  The 
water  does  not  lie  anywhere  at  a  greater  depth  than  eighteen 


•♦  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LV.,  Pt.  1.  p.  249  or  250. 
•»  Archaeologia.  Vol.  LV..  Pf .  I,  p.  249  or  250. 


34 

or  twenty  feet.  The  wells,  it  thus  appears,  were  shallow. 
They  "are  sunk  through  a  thick  bed  of  gravel  into  a  layer 
of  sand  which  underlies  it  and  rests  in  turn  upon  a  bed  of 
clay.  To  hinder  the  sand  from  collapsing  it  was  found 
necessary  to  line  that  portion  of  the  well  with  wood."^^ 
Where  the  stratum  is  thin,  a  framing  of  three  or  four  courses 
sufficed,  but  for  a  greater  thickness,  one  barrel,  and  some- 
times a  second  was  lowered  into  the  well,  or  the  wooden 
framing  was  carried  up  higher,  and  thus  formed  a  reservoir 
into  which  the  sand-filtered  water  rose.  .  .  The  barrels 
as  shown  by  the  bung  and  vent-peg  holes  have  certainly 
been  used  for  some  other  purpose  before  being  sunk  in  the 
wells,  probably  for  storing  oil  or  wine,  for  their  length 
and  size  preclude  the  possibility  of  their  having  been  trans- 
ported full  of  hquid."^^  "The  mouths  of  the  wells  were 
probably  covered  by  wooden  platforms  with  a  hole  for  the 
passage  of  the  bucket,  and  no  doubt  above  it  the  necessary 
windlass.  In  one  case  at  least  a  stone  platform  was  found. 
The  buckets  (wooden)  were  extremely  small.  They  appear 
to  us  like  toys,  but  so  many  remains  of  them  have  been 
found  in  the  wells  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  use.  "^^ 
A  rare  example  of  a  Roman  force  pump  was  found  in  a 
well  in  a  garden  of  one  of  the  largest  houses. 

"The  Callevans  were  well  provided  as  regards  food  sup- 
ply with  oxen  and  sheep.  The  pig  was  also  to  be  found 
but  less  commonly.  Of  birds  httle  can  be  said.  . 
Of  other  animals  the  horse  is  scantily  represented;  the 
skulls  of  dogs  are  constantly  found,  of  various  breeds  and 
sizes,  and  some  skulls  of  the  common  cat  have  been  brought 
up  from  the  pits.  All  the  animals  were  much  smaller 
than  those  of  the  present  day."^^  Human  remains  are 
"scanty  in  the  extreme. "^° 

In  regard  to  the  preparation  of  food,  "a  large  iron  grid 
for  grilling  meat,  with  a  ring  in  the  middle  to  hold  a  vessel 
for  warming  soup  or  gravy"  has  been  dug  up,  "but  beyond 


"  Guide,  p.  13. 

•'  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LVI..  Pt.  I,  p.  123  or  124. 

"«  Guide,  p.  14. 

«»  Guide,  p.  14. 

'«  Guide,  p.  15. 


35 

this  we  find  but  few  other  indications  of  the  culinary  art. 
This  however  is  not  the  case  as  regards  cereals  for  food, 
wheat,  barley,  oats,  etc.  .  .  The  fiat  querns  consisting 
of  two  discs  of  stone,  the  lower  convex  on  its  upper  surface, 
the  upper  concave  on  its  lower  surface,  and  neither  of  them 
of  any  great  thickness,  are"  as  stated  before  "to  be  found 
everywhere  where  Roman  remains  are  discovered  . 
No  ovens  of  the  Roman  period  are  known,  at  least  none 
"have  been  discovered  in  Britain.  We  are  therefore  driven 
to  suppose  that  if  anything  in  the  shape  of  bread  was  eaten 
by  the  inhabitants,  it  may  have  resembled  the  girdle  cake 
of  Scotland  or  the  cakes  may  have  been  baked  in  an  iron 
portable  oven  beneath  hot  ashes. "'^ 

"As  to  artificial  lighting,  there  was  no  public  lighting. 
The  illuminant  used  was  probably  tallow  or  wax  instead  of 
oil.  Olive  oil  in  the  Roman  period  must  have  been  a  some- 
what costly  import,  and  the  extreme  scarcity  of  the  remains 
of  oil  lamps  upon  the  site  and  in  Britain  generally  favours 
the  view'  that  candles  of  the  substance  named  were  used  in 
place  of  it.  Candlesticks  are  constantly  found,  more  espe- 
cially of  terra  cotta."^^  Some  of  tlie  few  lamps  found  are 
of  small  size.  "It  is  quite  possible  that  such  lamps  were 
attached  to  the  domestic  shrines  and  lit  on  special  occasions 
before  the  household  gods."^^ 

Mr.  Fox  believes  that  Silchester  had  its  special  trade. 
Over  all  the  north  west  side  of  the  city,  he  says,  dyeing 
was  carried  on.  Traces  of  the  furnaces  of  the  dye  vats 
appear.  "Over  them  buildings  of  a  temporary  character 
nmst  have  been  erected  .  .  Besides  the  dyers'  furnaces 
traces  of  their  ware-houses  have  been  uncovered,  lining  the 
road  from  the  west  gate  towards  the  Forum.  It  seems 
possible  that  the  trade  was  a  late  introduction  into  the  town, 
and  that  private  houses  may  have  stood  where  the  dyers 
afterwards  had  the  ground  to  themselves.  "^^ 

It  may  properly  be  remarked  here  that  in  examining 
the  foundations  of  houses  unearthed  at  Silchester  it  becomes 


"  Guide,  pp.  15  and  16. 
'«  Guide,  p.  16. 
"  Guide,  p.  16. 
'*  Guide,  p.  17. 


36 

evident  that  extensive  changes  were  made  from  time  to 
time  in  those  structures, 

"Two  other  industries,"  says  Mr.  Fox,  "if  such  they  can 
be  called,  have  left  a  trace  behind  them — that  of  carving 
in  bone  and  of  extracting  silver  from  copper.'"^ 

Among  the  structures  early  laid  bare  in  Silchester  was 
a  large  building,  spoken  of  at  first  as  cavalry  barracks, 
but  now  regarded  as  the  remains  of  an  inn  (hospitium). 
Attached  to  it  were  baths.  The  excavators  were  reluct-' 
ant  to  pronounce  these,  or  other  baths  found,  as  the  prin- 
cipal establishment  for  bathing  in  so  large  a  city  as  Silchester. 
In  1903  they  discovered  what  they  believe  to  be  that 
establishment,  in  Insula  XXXIII,  which  adjoins  Insula  VIII, 
where  the  remains  of  the  hospitium  and  annexed  baths 
are  to  be  found. 

In  an  insula  to  the  south  of  the  Forum  area  is  an  inter- 
esting building  which  is  regarded  as  a  temple.  The  founda- 
tions consist  of  two  concentric  rings  or  footings  of  slatey 
stone.  On  these  were  built  walls  forming  a  sixteen-sided 
polygon.  "VATiile  the  inner  wall  showed  sixteen  faces  cor- 
responding with  those  of  the  outer  wall  on  the  outside  it 
was  circular  within.  The  diameter  of  the  internal  ring  is 
35  feet  7  inches.  The  width  between  the  two  rings  is  9 
feet  6  inches.  The  length  of  each  side  of  the  polygon 
measured,  on  the  external  faces  of  the  outer  ring,  12  feet 
8  inches.  The  total  diameter  of  the  temple  is  about  65 
feet.^^  "In  all  probabihty, "  says  Mr.  Hilton  Price,  "this  was 
an  open  building,  as  no  remains  of  roofing  slabs  have  been 
discovered.  "'^^  An  ambulatory  ran  around  the  outside  of  the 
building.  To  what  god  was  this  structure  dedicated?  There 
is  nothing  to  help  us  solve  the  question.  The  late  Mr.  James 
Fergusson  considered  it  to  have  been  a  Serapeum.''^ 
Mr.  Price  says  that  "  taking  into  consideration  its  circular 
form,  it  may  be  open  to  supposition  that  the  goddess  Vesta 
might  have  been  worshipped  there.  "^^    There  is  however 


"  Guide,  p.  17. 

'8  Archaeologia,  Vol   LTV.,  Pt.  I,  p.  75. 

"  Archaeologia,  Vol.  L..  Pt.  TI,  p.  267  or  268. 

'«  Archaeologia.  Vol.  L,  Pt.  II,  p.  267  or  268. 

"  Archaeologia,  Vol.  L..  Pt.  II,  p.  267  or  268. 


37 

a  conjecture  which  is  more  of  a  favorite.  ''The  building 
stands  in  an  important  position,  with  ample  space  about 
it  and  its  great  ring  of  32  columns  must  have  had  an  impos- 
ing effect.  We  know  from  the  well-known  inscription 
found  at  Silch ester  in  1745,  that  there  was  a  local  deity, 
identified  with  Hercules,  who  was  worshipped"  in  that 
city.  "Perhaps  we  may  venture  on  a  conjecture  that  his 
temple  has  been  found  and  that  here  was  the  shrine  of  the 
Segontian  god."^*' 

Near  the  eastern  gate  of  the  city  are  two  rectangular 
buildings  separated  by  a  distance  of  about  50  feet.  Those, 
it  is  thought,  were  probably  "temples,  as  buildings  have 
been  found  in  Gaul  of  similar  or  nearly  similar  plan  un- 
doubtedly devoted  to  the  service  of  the  gods."^^ 

In  finishing  the  account  of  excavations  at  Silchester, 
mention  must  be  made  of  the  remains  of  a  building  found 
in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  area  in  which  the  forum 
and  basilica  stood.  There  were  found  the  foundations  of 
what  is  believed  to  have  been  a  small  Christian  church. 
"The  building  stood  east  and  west,  and  consisted  of  a 
central  portion"  (nave)  "29^  feet  long  and  10  feet  wide, 
with  a  semi-circular  apse  at  the  west  end.  North  and  south 
of  this  were  two  narrow  aisles,  only  five  feet  wide,  terminat- 
ing westward  in  somewhat  wider  chambers  or  quasi-tran- 
septs;  the  northern  of  these  was  the  chamber  first  discovered, 
and  was  cut  off  from  the  aisle  by  a  thin  partition  wall. 
The  eastern  end  of  the  building  was  covered  by  a  porch" 
(narthax)  "24  feet  3  inches  long  and  6  feet  9  inches  deep, 
extending  the  whole  width  of  the  three  main  divisions. 
The  total  external  length  was  exactly  42  feet.  The  walls 
average  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  were  built  of  flint  rubble 
with  tile  quoins. "^^  The  building  was  "orientated  with 
its  apse  towards  the  west.  The  floor  was  laid  with  a  pave- 
ment of  red  tile  tesserae  about  an  inch  square,  but  in  the 
centre  of  the  apse  was  a  square  space  in  which  was  a  mosaic 
pattern,  the  date  of  which,  from  a  comparison  with  other 


">  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LIV.,  Pt.  I,  p.  209. 
"  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LII.,  Pt.  II,  p.  747. 
•»  Archaeologia  ,  Vol.  LIII.,  Pt.  II,  p.  563. 


38 

Roman  mosaics,  is  estimated  in  the  report  in  Archaeologia'* 
(Vol.  LIII,  p.  563)  "as  the  fourth  century  A.  D."^^  Over 
the  mosaic  altar,  at  first  a  wooden  table,  probably,  was 
placed.  ''The  celebrant  stood  during  mass  behind  the 
altar,  and  facing  eastwards,  this  eastern  position  being  the 
essential  thing,  and  not  the  position  of  the  altar  within 
a  building.  The  clergy  were  arranged  in  a  semi-circle 
round  the  apse  behind  the  celebrant,  and  the  deacons 
stood  in  front  and  on  either  side.  The  chorus  of  singers  occu- 
pied the  western  part  of  the  nave."^ 

Before  writing  this  paper  I  collected  material  for  treating 
the  subject  of  religion  in  Roman  Britain,  with  especial 
reference  to  the  existence  there  of  Christianity.  The 
paper  is  long  enough  already,  however,  and  the  contem- 
plated treatment  of  that  subject  must  be  deferred.  Prob- 
ably it  is  better  that  it  should  be,  as  it  would  seem  well 
to  join  with  it  a  consideration  of  the  state  of  Christianity 
among  the  Britains  after  the  Romans  left  the  country 
and  among  their  conquerors  before  the  coming  of  Augus- 
tine. I  also  had  it  in  mind  to  present  such  evidence  as 
exists  regarding  the  Romanization  of  the  Britains  by  the 
Romans  during  their  occupation  of  the  country  and  regard- 
ing the  influence  of  the  latter  upon  the  Anglo  Saxons  and 
later  occupants  of  the  country.  These  purposes  also  must 
be  put  off,  but,  meantime,  it  may  be  said  that  enough  is 
known  to  make  the  statement  of  the  late  Mr.  Edward  A. 
Freeman  in  regard  to  the  insignificance  of  Roman  influence 
upon  the  successors  of  the  Romans  in  Britain  appear  very 
extravagant. 

It  was  necessary  in  writing  of  the  subject  of  this  essay 
to  give  a  considerable  amount  of  preliminary  and  somewhat 
elementary  information.  While  trying  to  bring  this  up 
to  date  I  have  deliberately  made  great  omissions  and  have 
treated  such  subjects  as  have  been  touched  upon  only  in 
outline.  The  essay  is  in  fact  little  more  than  a  mosaic  of 
descriptions  from  authorities;  its  merit  consists  mainly 
in  condensation,  selection  and  arrangement  by  a  person 


»»  The  Arts  of  Early  England,  v.  2,  ppJll  and  12. 
»*  Archaeologia,  Vol.  LIII  ,  Pt.  II,  p.  666. 


39 

who  had  made  a  somewhat  thorough  study  of  the  general 
subject  of  Roman  antiquities  in  Britain  and  its  literature. 
Attached  to  the  paper  is  a  short  bibliography,  which  will 
enable  the  inquirer  to  study  Roman  antiquities  in  England 
thoroughly  and  in  detail.  The  subject  is  interesting  and 
important. 

The  value  which  the  Romans  placed  upon  the  possession 
of  Britain  is  shown  by  the  strenuous  efforts  which  they 
made  to  get  the  country  into  their  hands  and  maintain 
their  position  there.  Distinguished  generals  such  as  Aulus 
Plautius,  Suetonius,  Paulinus  and  Theodosius,  father  of 
Theodosius  the  Great,  took  part  in  the  work.  So  did  the 
great  governor  Agricola. 

To  say  nothing  of  the  invasion  of  Britain  by  Julius 
Csesar  before  he  became  a  sovereign,  several  emperors 
engaged  in  the  work  of  conquest  and  pacification.  Claudius 
began  it;  Severus  rendered  great  service  in  the  subjugation 
of  the  country,  dying  as  has  been  already  stated  at  York; 
and  Constantius,  the  father  of  Constantine  the  Great, 
helped  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  empire.  Hadrian 
also  visited  Britain,  It  was  Vespasian's  distinguished 
successes  in  Britain  which,  it  is  said,  won  for  him  the  favor 
of  the  Roman  people  and  led  to  his  being  eventually  clad 
in  the  imperial  purple.  His  son  Titus  acquired  fame  in 
Britain  before  he  became  emperor.  Finally  Constantine 
the  Great,  it  will  be  recalled,  when  his  father,  the  Emperor 
Constantius,  was  in  command  in  the  country,  fought 
under  him  in  a  short  campaign  against  the  Picts  and 
was  proclaimed  emperor  in  its  capital.  Observe  too,  hints 
of  the  presence  in  Britain  of  his  son  the  Emperor  Constans. 

A  SHORT  WORKING  LIST  OF  MODERN  BOOKS  WHICH  CAN  BE 
ADVANTAGEOUSLY  USED  IN  STUDYING  IN  DETAIL  SUBJECTS 
BRIEFLY   TREATED  IN   THE   FOREGOING  PAPER. 

References  are  not  given  to  authors  who  in  the  Roman 
period  made  allusions  to  Britain  nor  to  early  English  writers 
such  as  Gildas  and  Bede.  Nor  are  they  made  to  such 
inquirers  as  Leland,  Camden  and  Horsley,  who  although 
later,  are  still  old.    Pertinent  extracts  from  all  these  writers 


40 

are  made  in  more  modern  works  and  sufficiently  considered 
there  to  meet  the  demands  of  inquirers  who  are  not  specialists. 

Reference  may  be  made,  if  desired,   to: 

Notitia  dignitatum  omnium,  tam  civilium  quam  mili- 
tarium,  Imperii  Romani,  ex  nova  recens.  P.  Libbe.  Vene- 
tiis,  1729,  fo.  (containing  with  other  information  what 
might  be  called  The  Army  list  of  the  Roman  Empire). 

Burton,  William.  A  commentary  on  Antoninus,  his  Itin- 
erary, or  journies  of  the  Roman  empire,  so  far  as  it  con- 
cerneth  Britain,  London,  1658. 

Monumenta  Historica  Britannica,  published  by  the  Record 
Commission,  in  1848. 

Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinum,  published  by  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Berlin,  Vol.  7.  Other  inscriptions  found  in 
Britain  are  published  by  the  same  society  in  its 
Additamenta. 

The  chief  sources  of  information  are  the  Archaeological 
journals:  namely, 

The  Journal  of  the  British  Archaeological  Association, 
1st  series,  50  volumes;  2d  series,  11  volumes;  volumes  giving 
accounts  of  places  visited  by  the  Society. 

The  Archaeological  Journal  (organ  of  the  Royal  Archae- 
ological Institute  of  great  Britain  and  Ireland),  62  vols., 
and  volumes  describing  places  visited  by  the  Society. 

Archaeologia  (organ  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
London),  59  volumes. 

Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London. 
(Archaeologia  contains  detailed  reports  of  the  work  of  Mr. 
Joyce  and  others  at  Silchester  and  the  official  annual  reports 
of  the  investigations  now  making  at  that  place  and  at  Caer- 
went.  It  also  contains  long  papers  suggested  by  the  exca- 
vations at  Silchester). 

Proceedings  of  the  British  Academy  for  the  promotion  of 
historical,  philosophical  and  philological  studies,  now  in 
its  second  volume. 

Proceedings  and  other  publications  of  local  historical 
and  archaeological  societies.  For  mention  of  these  societies, 
see  The  Year-book  of  the  scientific  and  learned  societies  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  of  which  the  22d  annual  issue 


41 

was  published  in  1905  by  Charles  Griffin  &  Co.,  Limited, 
London. 

One  or  two  articles  in  the  archseological  journals  which 
it  seems  well  to  refer  to  are : 

Guest,  Edwin.  The  Four  Roman  Ways,  Archaeological 
Journal,  v.  14,  p.  99  et  seq.; 

Watkin,  W.  Thompson.  Roman  Forces  in  Britain,  a 
paper  read  to  the  London  and  Middlesex  Archseological 
Society,   1873.    Also  supplement  in  v.   5. 

An  interesting  and  comprehensive  summary  of  Roman 
history  and  antiquities  in  Britain  and  one  which  I  have 
used  extensively  in  writing  my  paper  is: 

Scarth,  Rev.  H.  M.,  M.  A.,  Roman  Britain.  London, 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge. 

Other  good  historical  summaries  are: 

Elton,  Charles  Isaac.  Origins  of  English  History.  Lon- 
don, 1882,  and  the  chapters  on  Roman  History  in  Britain 
in  Hodgkin;  Thomas.  The  History  of  England  from  the 
Earliest  Times  to  the  Norman  Conquest.     London,  1906. 

I  make  no  mention  of  standard  histories,  such  as  that 
of  Mommsen.     I   call    attention   to   the  following  books: 

Bruce,  J.  Collingwood,  The  Roman  Wall.  3d  edition. 
London,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,   1867. 

Smith,  Charles  Roach.  The  Antiquities  of  Richborough, 
Reculver  and  Lymne  in  Kent.  London,  1850.  A  very 
good  little  pamphlet  called,  A  Short  Account  of  the  Records 
of  Richborough,  by  W.  D:  Morgate,  Keble's  Gazette  office, 
is  sold  at  Richborough.  I  mention  this  fact  as  it  is  hard 
to  get  Mr.  Smith's  book. 

There  is  an  article  on  The  Roman  Coast  Fortresses  of 
Kent  in  the  Archseological  Journal  of  December,  1896. 

There  are  interesting  illustrations  of  the  walls  at  Peven- 
sey  (Anderida)  in  the  Builder  of  Dec.  16,  1905. 

Mr.  Smith  is  an  authority  on  Roman  London,  also. 

The  pamphlet  on  the  Roman  Villa  of  Chedworth,  which  also 
contains  a  catalogue  of  the  contents  of  the  museum,  and 
which  is  sold  at  the  ruins,  is  by  Professor  Buckman  and 
Robert  W.  Hall  and  was  printed  in  Cirencester  by  W.  C. 
Coles,  Steam  Press,  St.  John  Street. 


42 

The  Roman  remains  of  the  villa  in  Lydney  Park  are 
described  by  C.  W.  King. 

MacCaul,  Rev.  J.  Britanno-Roman  inscriptions,  with 
critical  notes.     Toronto,  1863. 

Kenrick.  Historical  Notes  of  the  9th  and  6th  Legions, 
York,  1867. 

Watkin,  W.  T.    Roman  Lancashire,  1883. 

Buckman,  James,  and  Newmarch,  C.  H.  Illustrations  of 
the  remains  of  Roman  art  in  Cirencester,  the  site  of  ancient 
Corinium.     London,  1850. 

Vv^ellbeloved,  Charles.  Eboracum  or  York  under  the 
Romans.    York,  1842. 

A  hand-book  of  the  Antiquities  in  the  grounds  and 
museum  of  the  Yorkshire  Philosophical  Society.  Eighth 
edition.  York :  John  Sampson,  Publisher,  Coney  Street,  1891. 
That  is  a  very  useful  publication. 

Wright,  Thomas.     Uriconium,  London,  1872. 

Anderson,  J.  Corbet.  The  Roman  City  of  Uriconium. 
London:  J.  Russell  Smith,  Soho  Square,  1867. 

Fox,  George  E.  A  guide  to  the  Roman  city  of  Urico- 
nium at  Wroxeter,  Shropshire,  Shrewsbury :  Published  for 
the  Shropshire  Archaeological  Society,  and  printed  by 
Adnitt  and  Naunton,  The  Square,  1901. 

That  is  a  pamphlet  sold  at  the  ruins  and  is  an  admirable 
epitome  by  a  scholar  of  unquestioned  knowledge.  I  have 
used  it,  and  anything  else  which  I  know  to  be  by  Mr.  Fox, 
largely,  in  preparing  the  foregoing  paper.  It  is  illustrated 
by  a  plan  and  map. 

A  similar  epitome  by  Mr.  Fox  may  be  found  for  Silchester 
in  a  Short  Guide  to  the  Silchester  Collection,  second  edi- 
tion, which  is  sold  at  the  Reading  Public  Museum.  This 
also  contains  an  admirable  annotated  catalogue  of  the 
collection,  by  Mr.  Fox. 

S.  Victor  WHiite  &  Co.,  Balgrave  St.,  Reading,  have  pub- 
lished a  long  list  of  photographic  views  of  Silchester.  They 
also  sell  lantern  slides  of  the  views.  They  claim  to  take  a  new 
series  of  photographs  every  year  under  the  direction  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  claim 
is  warranted  for  copies  of  the  list  were  given  to  me  at  the 


-j-ri*  i;...'^,.  .tV^,-.-^".-"\       :^— T  .1, -.  .  Tr' '  .;  .  ,>l.i -Bwffl -^H    ,^  aft.'        K^     '^ 

"J!?  JO       « -J  ,  o  i   ;  -*1(  ■'^  *<«   'V  ff\' I  ••  ^  •  "  i^t)      o»       "r^Kt   ■  o\  "fVi -i  -   ■^■•i*-' 

Uf!  i«,l,J.-,.u.A..^•Jf.l«mA.,.ff:■Ailv«T^_.■'lUA■■.■)JJS:rJJ■■■■ll■MJ^'S»^^■''     '^■■<%      "v*?^ 


•    •       •    ^    •        • 


43 

ruins  and  the  pictures  were  spoken  of  highly  by  Mr.  Fox 
and  Mr.  Stephenson. 

As  may  have  been  surmised  before,  the  principal  source  of 
information  about  Silchester  (and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Caerwent)  is  the  reports  and  articles  in  Archaeologia. 


V 


or 


■'  ■  '  t  ri  e  j  ;    Y 

or 


'*      •       •        ••"•,•■••.•.•'•      • 
»■»    •       ••,,,•?•,•••• 


43 

ruins  and  the  pictures  were  spoken  of  highly  by  Mr.  Fox 
and  Mr.  Stephenson. 

As  may  have  been  surmised  before,  the  principal  source  of 
information  about  Silchester  (and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Caerwent)  is  the  reports  and  articles  in  Archaeologia. 


«        « 
I       • 


<  t        f       *  f  (     • 


UNIVERSITY  or  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 

STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
jOc  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  ,$1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  dav.  Books  not  in 
deniand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  ])oriod. 


JAN 


EP  to  1926 


<^ 


^^^m^mmm^mm^^^^m 


